What About the Others
by AZ1087653
Summary: "I wouldn't touch those," Rin admonished gently. "I remember the first time I saw them, right before my father died." "What are they?" Ritsu didn't know what was up or down anymore. "They're demons," the boy explained bluntly. "Welcome to hell." AU SIH and Ao No Exorcist. I will put this under the crossover section in a few days.
1. Part: The First

This story originated from a friend, Risque Tendencies, who threw a bunch of SIH and JR characters into a generator and used the two that popped out. Rather, I threw in characters from a bunch of series that I like (most have the seiyuu Okamoto Nobuhiku (Kisa in SIH) as a character) into a generator I use for school and out popped two random folks. Onodera Ritsu from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and Okamura Rin from Ao No Exorcist came out in that order.

Well, to make a long story short, I did what I could to come up with a plausible story for these two. It takes place a couple years prior to canon time with Onodera since I wanted to keep Takano out of the picture. Rin is sixteen in the story.

Thanks a bunch to Risque Tendencies who reads my chaptered stories beforehand to ensure my mistakes are not in abundance.

Also, I don't own anything. So suing will earn you a smile.

/GG/

What About the Others

Part – The First

Normally one didn't wake up from a decent night's sleep and think their life was about to change. Not just change, but rearrange itself into the completely bizarre. Sure, subtle differences in one's day-to-day routine kept a humdrum life from feeling too boring. Most people expect those minor changes; such as taking a different route to work, or buying a different meal in the canteen. What one doesn't expect is to be bitten by a stray animal, thus allowing the victim to start seeing things that really shouldn't be there.

Onodera Ritsu, editor in charge of the great Usami Akihiko and underling for his own father at Onodera Publishing, was not having a good morning. First his alarm clock had died mysteriously at 3:29 in the morning, thus making him jump out of bed an hour later than normal. He couldn't find a cab which meant he needed to run to the subway. Gone was the opportunity of wolfing down some sort of nourishment. The banker's meeting started at exactly nine o'clock; which meant he had all of ten minutes to make it to the train station, hop the train, and make it the three stops to his work building.

_Never gonna happen!_ He shouted inside of his head.

The editor did make it to the subway station just as the train left the station. Onodera put his hands on his knees to catch his breath and could feel the sting of frustrated tears in his eyes. It was bad enough he had a horrible stigma at work, being the son of the owner, but showing up late to his first banker's meeting was going to look bad on his resume.

He took his mobile from his pocket and watched the minutes tick by; 8:52, 8:53, 8:54. Well, that meant he'd fully miss the beginning of the meeting. A small bit of hope had kept him going just a few minutes prior, but with each passing second he let the reality sink in…he was fucked.

Other passengers seemed to have deserted the area as he looked up to see the lights overhead flickering with energy. It was not his day, nor was it his year…bloody hell, it wasn't even his life-time. Someone had it in for him, probably in hell, and relished the idea of making his life a living hell.

Ritsu glared at his reflection in the plastic sheet covering the advertisement on the wall. His eyes looked hollow and he could see the sleep deprivation bags under his eyes. What he wouldn't give for a little bit of a break, anything to help him gain his footing.

Of course, just the thought of needing better footing was enough to curse him as a dog, by the look of it, crashed into his leg and caused him to lurch forward. He fell to his knees and smashed, face first, into the side of the animal, which promptly did an about face and dug it's teeth into his hand.

"Ahhhhh!" Onodera screeched as he tried to wrench his hand away. The dog, which resembled a creature from a horror novel, held tight and Ritsu could see blood seeping from his hand and onto the floor.

He looked around for someone, anyone, to help him out, but the place seemed to be vacant. True, there hadn't been many people around to begin with, but it was rush-hour, so there should have been at least a handful of passengers waiting for the subway. In that moment, when he realized he was facing the creature alone, Onodera realized he might not make it out of the issue unscathed.

The thing started growling and let go of Onodera's hand, which caused the man to fall forward onto the ground. He tried to push himself up, but used the wrong hand and immediately felt the sting of debris pushing into the bloody holes on the lower part of his hand. This caused an intake of breath as he rolled to his side and held onto the hand with his other. That was when he noticed he wasn't alone in the station anymore.

Standing about ten meters away was a school-aged kid wearing a school uniform similar to the elite-type uniform he'd had to wear when he was attending boarding school abroad. At first glance the kid looked like he was going to freak out at the sight of the creature. Then the kid pulled out a sword. This caused Onodera to pause as he sat up on his posterior and started to massage his smarting shoulder.

To him it looked as if the kid was about to square off with the dog-thing. Ritsu watched in awe as the creature started to stalk the boy like prey. He'd have chalked his experience up to having a concussion until the school-boy started to burn alive with blue flames.

"Hey!" Onodera shouted, attempting to stand and help. Then he realized that while the kid was engulfed in flames, he wasn't actually burning to a crisp. "Uhhhh," he stuttered dumbly as he tried to see if he had been rendered unconscious and was in the middle of a strange dream. He pinched himself and it hurt, as did the wound on his hand that had started to fester.

Ritsu looked at his hand and back at the boy. They locked eyes for a moment and it seemed as if a bolt of electricity hit him square in the chest. The boy averted his eyes, swung his sword, and sliced the creature in half. Onodera watched as the dog burned into nothingness with a look of wonder on his face.

Within moments the boy had sheathed his sword and turned off the fireworks. Onodera watched as the boy walked toward him. Cautiously he allowed his _savior_ to walk toward him until he was a couple meters away. At that point he too started to walk backward until the boy stalled.

"You okay, old man?" the boy asked, concern in his blue eyes.

"I'm not an old man," Ritsu said without a second thought.

"Okay," the boy said. "But your hand?"

Ritsu held up his wounded hand and watched the blood fall from the gaping holes on both sides. Obviously he wasn't okay, but he could hardly think of that in that moment. He was still a little confused…okay, make that a lot confused.

"I'll be fine," he mumbled.

"Let me see," the boy reached for the lacerated appendage and Onodera shrank back. "I'm not going to hurt you, but you've been bitten by a demon, which means you might need special treatment for that."

Onodera lifted his hand and offered it to the boy with more thoughts swirling in his head than he knew what to do with. _What just happened? Who is this kid? How does he know that that thing was? How am I going to explain my absence to my father? Will I lose my hand? How on earth did that kid burn with no damage to his body?_

"My name is Okumura Rin," the boy said as he applied some sort of gel-like substance to the wound and wrapped it in long leaves of some sort. "My brother would be better at this than I am, or even Shiemi would know more about this. It should work though."

Onodera listened to the kid ramble for a spell before he realized that the pain in his hand was indeed gone. To say he was amazed was an understatement, so he just nodded and said a humble thank you.

"Someone's gonna need to come by and check this later. Where do you live anyway?"

Ritsu looked back at the boy and took his hand away, rather quickly, which ended up with a tear in the final leaf Okumura was fastening to his hand.

"Hey, chill out!" Rin snapped as he pulled the hand back and finished fastening remaining leaf to the man's wrist.

Ritsu had finally come back to the real world and realized he had been attacked, a stranger was helping him, and he was late for work.

"Sorry, but I really need to go to a hospital," Onodera said quickly.

"No hospital can treat a demon wound. I told you, this will help, and I can get someone to check on it in an hour or two, but I need to know who you are."

"Onodera," he answered absentmindedly as the whole situation finally came crashing down around him. "And I am late for work, plus I've got to go to the hospital, and you should be in school."

Rin laughed, the man was starting to lose mind a little. He wasn't going to last long enough to get help, which meant he'd need to follow the man until his brother could come and make sure everything was okay.

"Okay, I'll just make sure you get to the hospital before I head back to school."

"I don't need help from a high-school kid," Ritsu snapped. At this he turned and walked toward the exit of the subway. He noticed the kid was following him, but that only made him speed up, causing him to trip up the stairs a couple of time while his mind tried to catch up with the rest of his body.

Once he exited the subway he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide with confusion.

"Creepy, aren't they?" a voice beside him stated.

Ritsu nodded and reached his hand out to see if what he was seeing was real.

"I wouldn't touch those," Rin admonished gently. "I remember the first time I saw them, right before my father died."

"What are they?" Ritsu didn't know what was up or down anymore.

"They're demons," the boy explained bluntly. "Welcome to hell."

Onodera felt a pain in his stomach before he keeled over, passed out cold on the ground.

"Great," Rin said with a grin. "We might be able to pass this off as a dream," he said to himself as he used his mobile to call his brother.


	2. Part: The Second

What About the Others

Part: The Second

"Onii-chan, I have no idea how you manage to get yourself into these situations," Okumura Yukio said evenly as he reapplied a bandage to the older man's hand. The older man being the one his older brother had carried home over his shoulder.

"I couldn't very well leave him there after being bit, now could I?" Rin snapped as he watched his younger brother perform his magic.

"No, I don't see you as being someone who would leave someone in that situation," his brother said with a glare. "Which begs the question, how exactly did this situation arise?"

Rin looked away sheepishly as he knew he was going to get one heck of a scolding. "I used a key to visit Tokyo and ran into him at the subway. The demon bit his hand."

Yukio rolled his eyes. "I can see that. This means he's now able to see other demons, correct? I also assume you showed him your true form?"

"I didn't have a choice," Rin argued. "If I hadn't then this man could have been seriously injured."

"I agree, you didn't have a choice, but you do realize that we cannot wipe his memory; this isn't a television show. And we can't pass this off as the dream you were so convinced it could be explained as."

Rin jumped off the counter and stalked to his brother's side. He looked down at the sleeping man called Onodera. After he'd handed the man to his brother, Rin had taken it upon himself to search his wallet and find out what he could about the man. His name was Onodera Ritsu and he was 23 years old. He worked for Onodera Publishing, which the son of Satan deduced meant he worked in the family business.

The editor moaned but remained passed out. Rin studied the man's face for a moment before speaking again. "How come we can't pass this off as a dream? It's hardly fair to bring this man into our world."

"Nii-chan," Yukio said seriously. "It's not fair for anyone to enter this world in which we live. No one should have to be as scared as I was growing up, but we can't stop what has happened. I'll see what I can do to help this guy, but it's kind of out of our hands now."

"How about I watch him," Rin offered before he realized what he'd said. "From afar, I mean, you know, check up on him every now and then."

Yukio almost scoffed at the notion. "Rin-chan, you can hardly take care of yourself and this man is older than you are, so I am sure he can take care of himself."

"Obviously not if he got bit by a demon," the other muttered. He felt it his fault the man had been thrust into a world unknown to many and while he had school and exorcist training to finish, he also knew that the man would need a friend who could understand what was happening.

"I'm done," Yukio stated as he placed the man's arm down at his side. "I suggest you take him back to where he belongs and forget about him. You have enough to deal with."

"But how do we explain the demons?"

Yukio looked at his brother coldly. Although he loved his older brother immensely, he also knew Rin's perchance to bite off more than he could chew. Babysitting some random man who had just been granted the gift of sight was not something the chosen son of Satan would be able to handle.

"We don't. He'll learn to adapt like all the others. Most likely he'll be put on medicine which can block out the idea. If that doesn't work he'll likely end up in an asylum for the mentally absent where he can quack about what he sees that no one else can see."

The reality of what was going to happen to Onodera-san was like getting slapped in the face by a baseball shoe. "Is that what happens to everyone not in the know?" he asked quietly.

"More than likely. It's safer for everyone concerned if they are kept safe and out of harm's way."

Rin's internal battle started to rage in his brain. In no way was he prepared to find out what _others_ went through when they weren't in a position to learn about the world within the world. Everyday people went about their business completely unaware of what they weren't able to see. If someone did become aware, for whatever reason, it was very likely that they were passed off as being crazy. If they didn't want to be shunned they probably ignored what they saw. How many of them were out in the world without a confidant?

"Don't even think about it," Yukio said sternly as he put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know you have some wild thought of some sort running throughout that brain of yours, but you are not capable of helping this or any other person, not when you are the chosen son of Satan. Anyone you tried to help would just end up becoming targets."

Rin nodded, but he didn't agree with what was being said.

/GG/

Clouds fogged his mind as he finally came to. It was difficult to think about anything but the present as Ritsu woke up. He could feel moderate pain in his hand as he came to and there wasn't a memory in his head to help him figure out where the pain had come from. In fact, he wasn't even aware of where he was.

He opened his eyes slowly and saw that he was in his own bedroom and the lights were dimmed so as not to offend his optics. Onodera groaned slightly as he tried to wiggle under the covers. Obviously he had been undressed, though he wasn't sure which articles of clothing remained on his body. It didn't even occur to him that someone may have been in charge of removing his clothes.

Ritsu looked around to see if anyone was in the room with him and when he saw he was alone he sat up slowly. His head was slightly dizzy, but nothing worse than a hangover, so he didn't really pay it any mind. What he did pay attention to was that he wasn't wearing any clothing. Onodera wasn't the type to sleep naked unless…he didn't want to think back to high school, so either he was really out of it when he came home or he was undressed by someone.

Cautiously he stood up and found his bathrobe. Once he was decent he turned on his light and looked at his hand. His prior memories flooded back to him as he recalled the dog-thing, the burning boy, and seeing the creatures in the sky. The boy who could burn called them demons. What in the fuck was a demon?

The boy, his name was what? O-something, or was it Rin? He couldn't think straight. Was that person the one who had stripped him bare and placed him in his bed? The thought that someone had been in his apartment without his knowledge scared the shit out of him. What worried him even more was that the kid might have still been in his apartment.

Onodera left his bedroom and shut the door quietly. He slinked down the hallway and opened the door to the rest of the apartment. He did a once over of the room and noticed there was someone sleeping on his sofa. The sword was a dead give-away; it was the same kid from the attack in the subway station.

Ritsu wanted to leave the apartment, but leaving meant that he'd leave the kid there by himself. Forgetting the fact that he was an unknown kid in the house of a stranger who had reached the age of majority, he couldn't ignore the fact that many parents would not be too happy about such a situation. Onodera had read enough books to know what could happen if rumors started circulating.

He maneuvered himself into his front room and shut the door before padding over to the kitchen. His body was obviously angry at him for the lack of food and he needed food. It shocked the man that the kid could not hear his stomach grumbling in hungry protest. Even if he did manage to find something in his kitchen though, he had no way of ensuring he'd be able to remain quiet enough to let the other sleep. So Ritsu decided to just make his normal amount of noise and wake the sleeping figure up.

Pots crashing to the ground jarred Rin awake faster than he'd ever woken up before. He shot up and looked over at the kitchen in Onodera-san's house to see the man sifting through his cupboards in search of who knew what. There hadn't really been much in the kitchen from what Rin had seen, so it wasn't likely the man would be able to make anything extensive.

"Hey, do you want me to make some omelet and rice?" he asked, causing his companion to jump and drop a dish to the ground. The dish shattered on contact. "Careful!"

"And why do I have to be careful in my own apartment? Who gave you permission to come inside in the first place?" Onodera snapped as he leaned down to pick up the shards that littered the floor.

"You were out, so what choice did I have in the matter?"

"Maybe minded your own business and left me the hell alone?"

Rin just rolled his eyes. "Listen, you were hurt, I wasn't about to let you get killed by that demon dog, even if I wasn't where I was supposed to be." He walked into the kitchen while Ritsu scrambled out of the way and into the living area. "And even if I had saved you and left you, you'd have only been robbed or worse. So, the way I see it, you should be thanking me."

Onodera glowered, but nodded slightly. The kid did have a point. Were it not for him there was no telling what would have happened to him.

"What's your name again?" Ritsu asked as the boy started making the rice.

"Okumura, Okumura Rin, but you can call me Rin if you'd like since you're older than I am," he replied as he passed the elder a cup of coffee.

"Thank you, Rin-kun, for helping me and the coffee," Onodera said as he took a sip. The kid must have turned the pot on while he was knocked out. "How old are you anyway?"

"I just turned sixteen." A smile appeared on the young man's face like turning sixteen was an accomplishment.

Ritsu spit part of his coffee onto the table in a fabulous spit-take when he realized just how young his savior was. This caused the kid to laugh, which in turn caused Ritsu to chuckle nervously. He couldn't believe he was saved by someone who wouldn't have even been in elementary school with him.

"What should I call you then? Onii-san?" Rin asked as he finished cooking the eggs.

"Uhhh, I'm not really comfortable with that, how about Onodera?" _How long was the kid planning on staying?_

"I can live with that," Rin stated as he took a seat and caught Onodera's eyes. The same electric spark he'd noticed yesterday was still there. "I am not supposed to be here, but I am ignoring my brother's orders to leave you alone so I can help you adjust to your new sight."

Ritsu eyed him warily from across the table. "What new sight is this, Rin-kun ?"

"As I said earlier this morning, welcome to hell. I mean every single word of that too. I may not be able to save the others, but I can at least save you."

Onodera was at a loss of words from the remark. The one thing he did know was that the kid sitting at his table, while a little odd looking with the pointed ears and sharp teeth, had the same kind of kind eyes he'd once let himself drown in. While he didn't trust the eyes from a lifetime ago anymore, he had no reason not to trust the ones boring holes into his head at that moment.

"Explain."


	3. Part: The Third

Welcome to the third chapter of this strange series I have been writing. It's been fun.

I want to shout out to Risque Tendencies, without which this story would be completely English crap. I admit, that my writing at two or three in the morning should stop. If anyone finds any mistakes I appreciate being told, just do it in a professional manner. Thanks.

Also, I wanted to thank anyone and everyone who is reading this bit of strangeness here. I am enjoying writing it and only have some fine tuning to have the entire story completed. Thanks!

/GG/

What About the Others

Part: The Third

Onodera flat out told him no and there was nothing Rin could do to change his mind. The editor didn't want to believe there was any such thing as demons, even if he had seen them with his own eyes. Rin did everything in his power to try and convince the man that what he was and what he spoke of was true, but it went in one ear and out the other. He came to the conclusion that this older guy was completely stubborn.

"What can I do to make you believe?"

Ritsu shook his head, wishing he could just send the boy away. He didn't belong in the older man's apartment, and Onodera needed to contact work and explain where he'd been all day. The clock on the wall had chimed nine a short while prior, which meant he'd been out of contact with anyone for over twelve hours. He wasn't a bad employee, but for the first time in his life he wondered if anyone had even noticed he'd been gone. It wasn't as if he was popular with his peers anyway.

"I have work to do, I think you should just leave while it's still early enough to catch the subway," he answered the kid with a slight scowl. He didn't like being lied to; that type of crap had already jaded him pretty bad.

"I already told you, I don't want to leave until you understand. At least then you might be able to take better care not to end up in the loony bin."

Onodera scoffed, "If anything, that's where you're going to end up. I'm not the one pretending to be the son of Satan."

"I'm not lying," Rin asserted. "I and my brother are biologically Satan's sons. It's not something either of us are proud of, but it's the truth."

"And what if I don't believe in Satan?"

Rin narrowed his eyes and sighed. "I was hoping to keep from scaring the shit out of you after all of this, but I guess it can't be helped."

Onodera watched as the kid went for his sword. For a spell he was worried the kid was going to try and kill him as the sword came from its sheath. That didn't happen though, as he watched in disbelief as the boy did in fact start to glow blue. He had horns on his head and a tail whipped itself free from his clothes and started to blaze as well. In addition his ears and teeth had gone sharper than normal. It took all of half a second for the man to stammer, jump from his chair, trip over the coffee table, smash into the sofa, and pass out cold from the shock.

Rin visibly drooped. It was obviously going to take quite a bit more on his part to get Onodera to understand that he wasn't there to hurt or scare him, but to be a shoulder while he came to terms with his new-found power, as it were. First he needed to keep the man awake long enough to come to terms with everything that was going on.

First he drug the guy to his bed and did his best to lift him up so he was lying on the mattress. He had a western style bed rather than a traditional futon, which would have been easier since it rested on the floor. Then he did what he could to make the man comfortable. The son of Satan wasn't quite remembering his _issue_ and ended up with his tail stuck under the editor which caused him to fall on top of the man, thereby waking said man up with a start.

Onodera was more than embarrassed to come to with a teenage boy lying across his chest. He wanted to scream, but that wasn't going to happen with the wind knocked out of him. Instead he turned beet red and tried to hide his face while the kid pried his tail from between Ritsu's butt and the mattress pad.

"God, you're heavy," Okumura said as he held his tail in his hand like he actually cared for the appendage.

"You're one to talk. Why were you lying on top of me anyway?" Ritsu asked in disgust as he sat up and shook his head as he saw the boy's tail as it hung from his arm.

"I fell because you managed to snag it when I was trying to help you."

Ritsu glared at the kid. "I think you've helped enough. Why don't you go back to school and let me sleep so I can drag my ass in to work tomorrow and get fired?"

Rin decided in that moment that enough was enough. "Fine," he spat. "I can't help someone who doesn't want the help."

Onodera watched the kid take a key from his pocket, insert it into his hallway door, and open the portal with flair. He expected to see his bleak hallway, but rather he saw something right out of a fairy tale. A multitude of color hit his optics and he glared as the figure of Rin disappeared, followed by the slamming of a door. He didn't want to believe, it was all too fantastic, but Ritsu couldn't deny that there was certainly merit to what the kid had said.

/GG/

Okumura stalked down the hallway and exited the annex building for his dorm. He'd given it a try, even though his brother had warned him, and it had failed. Rin didn't like to fail; it pissed him off. Then he thought of his brother. How many times had the younger son of Satan tried to help someone before coming to the conclusion it was a fruitless endeavor? Yukio hadn't even admitted to the fact, but Rin was sure a number existed and it was more than one could count on both hands.

Instead of dwelling on the situation, he'd decided it was best to find his bed and sleep it off. All day he'd dedicated to helping the stubborn older man and in the end he hadn't even received a thank you. So much for trying to be a Good Samaritan.

Rin walked into his shared dorm room and collapsed onto the bed. All he wanted to do was slip into dream land and let the day disappear into oblivion. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Alternatively, his head filled with the scared look of the man as he was attacked, the surprise the other felt when he saw the other demons, and the look of shock when he'd revealed his true form. It was almost too much for him to take. Rin had never met someone who had the sight without being in the know, so he worried himself into a tizzy wondering how he was going to handle knowing he was of absolutely no help to Onodera-san.

Try as he might, he couldn't get comfortable, nor could he fall asleep. Every time sleep started to take hold his body, in reflex, would jerk itself awake. He remembered Yukio telling him that when the body goes to sleep sometimes it thinks its dying and reflexively kicks out or jolts to bring the person back from 'death'. While that is all good for people who are actually dying, when someone is trying to sleep, that kind of thing is rubbish. Rin just couldn't get his body to listen to him that it wasn't dying, nor would it die any time in the near future if he could help it.

Finally he tried the old method of counting sheep. Unfortunately they looked a little like demons, so he ended up bolting upright in utter surprise. Rin looked over at his brother's sleeping form and wondered how the younger of the two could sleep through Rin's inability. Finally he settled himself down and told his brain to shut the hell up, he wanted to dream.

In his dreams, after he'd fallen asleep, he kept seeing the demons attacking Onodera while he was minding his own business. They used him as their play thing and ended up leaving him for dead. A second dream was the guy walking along and watching demons attacking others, trying to help, and being ridiculed for being insane. The final dream, the one that caused him to wake, was of the poor man being taken off and locked away from the world because of 'hallucinations'. This thought scared the boy more than anything else. It was easy to ignore it happening if one doesn't know the person it's happening to, but another completely to know the person.

Rin decided that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Onodera-san was going to meet the most stubborn half-devil in history and learn how to handle living in the demon world whether he wanted to or not. Of course that was probably going to be easier said than done.

/GG/

In another part of Japan, Onodera was still trying to come to grips with everything that had happened in less than a day. That morning he'd woken up and had a normal morning, until running into a demon. Then everything went haywire after that.

Just as he was about to step into the shower, his phone rang. He scowled at the offending article since it was keeping him from relaxing in the bathtub. The phone continued ringing, so he went to pick it up.

"Ritsu!" It was his mom. "I was told you never made it to work today, are you okay? Father said you didn't call in sick, so we all thought you'd been kidnapped and held for ransom."

Onodera rolled his eyes. His mother liked to make mountains out of molehills as well as force her opinions on people. He had no doubt in his mind that her entire group of friends were praying for him in some ridiculous prayer circle.

"No mom, if I was being held for ransom you'd have gotten a ransom letter or something to confirm that fact."

"Don't be a smart-ass, Ritsu. An-chan is here and is beside herself with worry. You were supposed to meet with her tonight."

Ritsu shook his head. He'd contacted his friend and told her he was going to stay at work and finish up the manuscript edits after the meeting. There was no way he'd have finished in time to take her to her little party, so he'd called four times, sent two text messages, and three e-mails stating that fact. No matter what he did, his mom and his friend always thought he would drop everything to be at their beck-and-call.

"Mom, I told you, and her, multiple times that I was unavailable tonight. How come you didn't listen?"

"An-chan is your fiancé; you need to take care of her."

Apparently the girl hadn't broken it to his mom that he'd turned her down and told her the arrangement was never going to work out. After the day he'd had, he wasn't exactly looking forward to telling his mom, but it needed to stop. He adored An-chan, but not in the way his mom wanted him to.

"Mom, I am officially declining this arranged marriage. I don't love her like you want me to, so please, just let An-chan and I continue to be friends."

The other end of the line was silent and he couldn't figure out if it was because no one was talking or if his mother had covered the receiver. The way his mother was, it was probably the latter.

"Mom, are you still there? I had a rough day…" he said, then paused since he couldn't very well tell his mom exactly what happened. "I was attacked by a stray dog at the subway, so I went to the hospital to have it looked at. I'm sorry I was out of contact for the day. I guess in all the excitement I kind of forgot to tell anyone of the situation."

This was enough to get his mom speaking again.

"Ritsu, are you okay? What happened? Did they catch the dog that attacked you? Will you scar? Why don't you let An-chan take care of you?"

"Yes. The dog bit my hand. Yes. We don't know. It's unnecessary; I can take care of myself." Ritsu didn't feel like catering to his mother's little ideas right then. "I just want to go to sleep. If dad's there let me talk to him, if not then I need to contact someone from human resources and let them know what happened since I wasn't thinking clearly today."

With those final words he was able to get his mom to cut her incessant busy-bodying and let him speak to his father. The elder Onodera listened and said he'd call Ritsu's immediate supervisor for him and give him some excuse so as not to get the younger in trouble. Onodera didn't really like when his father threw his weight around, but he was willing to let it slide just once because of the day he'd had.

After the call he was able to finally take a shower and sit in the tub. Ritsu played the day in his head; start to finish, to see what he could remember. The only thing that kept popping into his head was the look of concern that seemed to emanate from the young man's face. He knew he was probably a little harsh, but in the heat of the moment he was definitely not thinking of others. If he ever met that boy again he'd properly apologize and pay him in kind.


	4. Part: The Fourth

Sorry for the long update time. Sadly, real life sometimes comes crashing down. Luckily it will be over, or at least this part, within three weeks. I will also be updating my other story today too, since this and the other are all but done anyway.

Thanks to anyone who has read/reviewed/followed/favorited this little bit of strangeness. I appreciate knowing people are watching. Also, thanks to Risque Tendencies for reading through and correcting all of my many mistakes. Cheers!

/GG/

What About the Others

Part: The Fourth

Onodera Ritsu woke up the next morning with a kink in his neck and a headache. Memories of the prior day flooded his psyche and he groaned as he remembered the conversation with his mom, the strange encounter with the kid, and the fact that his hand had all but been maimed. All in all, it was a crappy day to be sure.

Never in his life would he have thought to spend a day in which he could have easily been high on some illegal narcotic. The last time he'd felt that strange was when he was a teen and had been completely infatuated with Saga-senpai. Even being a twitterpaited teen hadn't fucked with his head as much as Okumura-kun had. His mother; he was used to her antics, but add in a nice suitcase full of crazy in the form of a kid who claimed he was half demon, that was another matter entirely.

So, Ritsu did what any normal, sane, person would do; he ignored it and went about his morning as if nothing had changed. He got dressed, grabbed an energy drink from his fridge full of fast food take-out boxes and convenience store eats, and headed outside for work. Everything was just as normal as it normally was, until he stepped outside.

/GG/

Rin groaned as he woke up to his brother's incessant calls.

"Go away, Yukio, I am not going to school today. Tell everyone I'm sick," he coughed as he stuffed his head under his pillow and tried to stop the pounding headache attacking his brain.

"Nii-chan, are you okay?" The worry in his brother's tone was apparent, but Rin just ignored it until he felt the covers being pulled from his body.

The cold washed over him quickly and he curled into a ball; tail becoming a poor substitute for a blanket. With his eyes narrowed and his teeth bared, he sat up and looked at his brother. The look on Yukio's face was enough to soften Rin's expression and he looked at the floor.

"I know what's going on in your head, Nii-chan," Yukio said softly as he sat down on the bed. "You're thinking; 'what about the other?', aren't you?"

Okumura looked at his little brother before giving a slight nod.

"When I was ten," Yukio stated. "That was the first time I tried to help someone I saw get bit by a demon. I spent so much time trying to help the man that father had to come and all but lock me in a closet. The second time wasn't even a year later, followed by a few more times. I wanted too much to help them; each and every one."

Rin stared, wide-eyed, at his brother. He knew, with Yukio's addiction to healing, there had to have been multiple people the younger of Satan's sons had tried to save.

"Each one that I couldn't save was like being stabbed in the chest. It was difficult to breathe, but I realized after a while that I couldn't save them, especially if they didn't want to be saved. None of the others wanted my help, or anyone else's."

"Then how did you manage to go on with your life? Each one of my thoughts is on that man and how he's going to be in for a rude awakening when he encounters his next demon. Sure, it may be days, weeks, even months before another demon shows up, but one sure as hell will."

Yukio sighed and placed an arm around his brother's shoulder; pulling him close. "I just knew I had to continue on. If I didn't then I would have been wasting my life and that just wasn't an option for me," he looked at Rin with a smile. "You don't have that option either, Rin-chan. As the sons of Satan, we must continue on and prove to the world that family background doesn't make us who we are inside."

This mushy talk reminded Rin of the chats the two had had when they were younger. At times he'd thought his brother would have been better off had he been born a girl, what with the way the boy was always acting. He realized that these conversations had been between a boy without the sight and one with the sight; how his brother must have detested him and yet he'd put on a front. Onodera-san must have been putting on a front as well. Even sleeping hadn't quenched his desire to help the man; 'no' was still not an option.

He nodded his head as his brother left the room. Rin was left with his musings, but they never changed. The only thing he saw was that man; no one else seemed to matter.

After a quick shower and some breakfast, Rin used his key to leave the grounds and head into Tokyo again. In truth he was waiting for someone to see that he was rather abusing that power and take the key away. Until that time he'd continue trying to reach the man. As much as he loved and respected his brother, giving up was not something he planned to do.

/GG/

Ritsu immediately wanted to turn around and go back inside once stepping through the threshold of his home. Standing outside, or more like floating, was some sort of three headed creature. It seemed to be scanning the land for something; and no one seemed to care that it was there.

"Hey! Watch out!" he shouted as he ran toward a lady with a baby buggy who would have crashed into the thing's tail had he not intervened.

"What is your problem?" she screeched as she pushed Onodera out of the way and walked right through the tail as if it weren't even there.

One of the heads dislocated itself from the thing's body and floated down toward Ritsu, who stood frozen to the cement. It gave him a once over and then returned to the upper part of the body to continue scanning. The man could almost feel himself crap his pants when he resumed breathing; something he hadn't been aware had stopped for a short time.

"What in the hell are you doing, son?!" someone shouted. Ritsu didn't even realize he'd stalled right in the middle of the road and cars were starting to back up.

"Sorry!" he shouted as he stepped the few feet back onto the sidewalk. His eyes never once left the creature suspended above the roadway.

A full fifteen minutes passed before he realized he was going to be late for work. Cursing under his breath he rushed to the subway and hoped his father had come through for him. With all that had happened as of recent he didn't really need more added to his already fucked life.

This time no demon dogs attacked, nor did any sons of Satan turn up. Ritsu breathed a sigh of relief as he walked into the building and made his way to human resources to check in after being gone the prior day. All he needed was to get to his desk and work on the new Usami novel for a while. Reading sensei's words always made him feel that much better about life in general; even if the stories were a little depressing at times.

Onodera didn't exactly make it to the HR department. Sitting on the sofa next to the security guard's post was An-chan, with a worried expression on her face, and his mother, with a look of slight annoyance on hers. There was no stopping the two once they saw him round the corner and for a moment he almost wished he could face off with the demon dog again.

"Ritsu!" His mother obviously wasn't going to let him do much talking. "Let me see your hand." She took hold of his arm and pulled him close to inspect. "What is this green stuff, Ritsu? Didn't you go to a proper doctor?"

"I had my hand properly looked at, mom," he snapped as he took his hand back. "Leave that alone. You can inspect the wounds once I take the bandage off."

"What is going on in your head; when did you start disrespecting me in front of your fiancée?"

For a brief moment all he wanted to do was shout out that he wanted to be left alone, but he knew that such a display in his workplace would cause a commotion, so he lowered his eyes and apologized.

"I want you to let An-chan take you to the hospital so you can get checked over," the woman pressed. "You can come back to work after you take her to lunch."

"Mom, I can't leave after I just got here," Ritsu said in annoyance. "I need to stay this morning, then maybe I can take the afternoon off, but I have too much to do right now."

"Nonsense, there's nothing you need to do that's more important than your health. Your father agrees with me," she added. Onodera knew she added that last bit as a way to overpower him.

"Mother, please," he all but begged in an undignified manner. Much to his dismay the display was witnessed by no less than eight additional workers, not including the security guards. "An-chan, I am sorry, but I…" He never got the chance to finish.

"I'm sorry, but Onodera-san has already promised to help me today."

Ritsu turned around and was shocked to see Okumura-kun standing behind him; dressed for school and adorned with his sword.

"Ritsu, who is this?" his mother demanded.

"This is Okumura Rin, he saved me from the dog yesterday," Ritsu said while he tried to process why the boy had shown up, especially after the prior night's words.

"Nice to meet you, Onodera-san's mama," Rin said with a bow. "I need him to come with me so we can make a report." He then addressed Ritsu. "Sorry I'm a little early. Being a school kid I thought you might show me some of your office building so I can write a little about it for a school paper."

All the editor could do was nod slightly and then grab the boy's hand with his good one and stalk off, leaving his mother and An-chan in his wake. Having the two show up at his work like this was more embarrassing than some of the things he'd done as a teenager. More of his co-workers would spread rumors and he'd never hear the end of it. One of these days he was going to blow up at his mom and her meddling if she didn't stand back and let him live his own life.

"Hey, Onodera-san, can I have my hand back?"

Ritsu looked back and saw that he'd linked hands with Rin and immediately dropped it; face turning a nice shade of scarlet.

"Sorry," he said.

"That's okay. What was that about anyway?"

"That was my mother and a childhood friend. They were worried about me."

Rin smiled. "I used to love it when my dad paid attention to me like that. I'd give anything for him to still be around."

Onodera narrowed his eyes. "I thought you said your father was Satan. How can you possibly want _something_ like that around?"

"My biological father is Satan. My father, the one who raised me, was a priest and an exorcist. I aim to be like him, not the one who knocked up my mom."

"That's rather a tall tale. Sounds like something out of a manga."

"It's not something I asked for," Rin snapped. "Give me your hand and let me look at it."

Ritsu handed the appendage over and let the school-boy look at it. Carefully, his hand was un-bandaged and the strips of leaves were put into a knapsack Rin had at his side. Once the final bandage was removed, he was able to see that his hand wasn't that bad. Yes, it had some scars, but they looked fully healed, albeit just a little purplish around the holes that were not really there anymore.

"How?"

"I couldn't begin to tell you why there are no gaping and bloody holes. Let's just say that the medicine I put on your hands works really well. Shiemi created it and it works better than anything else we've ever used."

"Whose Shiemi?" Ritsu asked as he stretched his hand and let the joints pop.

"She's a friend of mine from school. She got some sort of plant fetish, so she knows a lot."

After he moved his hand a little, Onodera looked at the kid and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I can't just let you come to terms with this on your own. I know I don't have a right to, but I also don't think anyone should have to deal with the sight by themselves."

Normally a person would try to ignore something like this for as long as possible. Sometimes a person mightn't have even come to grips with such a gift. Onodera was at the point where he knew something was different and if someone was willing to befriend him with regards to the matter he should just accept it. Especially if the kid was taking time out of his school schedule to help him.

"I'm sorry," he said, humbly. "For how I acted yesterday. I was out of line and I should learn to control my emotions a little better."

Rin grinned and clapped the older man on the back, making him lurch forward. "It's no problem. If I were in your shoes I'd have probably reacted in a similar fashion. Let's just say that I am going to check up on your periodically to make sure you're okay. But today I want to go over some basics with you. Hopefully these basics will keep you from going insane and getting locked up."

"Who said anything about my getting locked up, brat?" the editor spit.

Okumura looked at the other with a deeply serious expression on his demonic face. "Let's just say that I've done some research into those who are given the sight but haven't been given help or denied it. Almost 100% of those individuals ended up shunned, thrown into an asylum, or worse; dead."

The only sound Ritsu could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat, along with the massive gulp of saliva that had suddenly overtaken his mouth. Those were not good odds.

"I have only run into one little girl in my time who had the sight, but she was lucky enough to live near my family so my father helped her; others are not so lucky. You are the first one in my life who had no one."

More words that made him feel about three inches tall. Onodera just nodded. "I'll listen," he said. Ritsu made a vow to himself to let the kid help, even if he didn't want to accept it. Nothing Rin had said made sense, but then again, nothing in the past 24 hours made sense either.


	5. Part: The Fifth

I feel like an ass since I had intended to update more often, but then my weekend comes around and I get to writing for another series or something. Bad authoress, me. Anyway, here is the fifth chapter of Others. It has been beta-ed by the lovely Risque Tendencies. Thanks so much. Also, thank you to everyone who drops by to read and a special thanks to people who let me know what they think.

Cheers!

What About the Others

Part: The Fifth

_One Month Later_

True to his word, Onodera had learned to live with his new sight. No, the living with it didn't really make him happy, but it did make seeing demons everywhere that much more bearable. He'd continue on with his normal schedule; get up, go to work, work, do some more work, and then head home. At the subway, usually waiting near the exact spot where they'd first met, stood Rin. The school boy would never miss meeting up with Ritsu and he was glad for that.

Rin-kun had become a staple in his life and Onodera found himself enjoying the time he spent with the youth, even if most of it was spent talking about things in the kid's life that he himself would never experience. The boy would tell him of the most recent demons fought, or his jealousy over how popular his brother was with the ladies. All in all, he found it nice to have someone to talk to.

Okumura actually felt the same way, though he'd never admit it. Originally he'd intended to spend a few days with the older man and then get back to his life, but he found it nice to have someone who would actually listen when he just needed to complain about life. Onodera-san was perfect for the job because he was more than willing to listen and then discuss with an open mind. Once he'd gotten used to the demons his personality became a little more laid-back.

The normal meeting place and time was the same every day. Ritsu tried to get Rin to stay away on the weekends just so the boy could be with his friends. In that month though he never once missed meeting up with the older man. Every time he showed up at that subway, even when he said he wouldn't, Onodera would feel happy that Rin was waiting there.

"You're late, Onodera-san," Rin said with a grin when Ritsu finally stepped off the subway.

"It's hardly my fault when the car stops because of a malfunction," Onodera snapped. The kid could be a pain in the ass sometimes.

"Whatever, let's go talk about that demon there," Rin said as he pointed toward a normal looking lady.

Ritsu eyed her slightly before raising his brow. "How can you tell she's a demon?"

Okumura helped Ritsu focus his gaze on the lower part of the woman's body, namely the legs, or where the legs and ankles should have been. There were shoes on the ground, but no body part in the shoes. They moved on their own and the 'lady' moved with them. A few weeks prior a sight like this would have had Ritsu fainting or all but freaking out, but now it was commonplace.

"This is a demon pretending to be human. Occasionally you'll find a demon who's possessed a human's body. Those are hard to differentiate between a normal human."

"Can you?" Onodera asked. "Differentiate I mean, is that some power to being Satan's son?"

Rin laughed. "No, I can't just automatically tell, though it would be nice if I could. I can sense things though, which makes it easier for me. It's a skill you learn to hone at the exorcist trainings I attend."

The editor recalled the conversation a while back where Rin-kun had decided he wasn't going to attend classes until the older man was situated with his newfound ability. Onodera had insisted Okumura attend school, no matter what. After the first few days he hadn't been on the verge of jumping out of his skin anymore, and that made it all the better. After some prodding, Rin had agreed, but only because Onodera had threatened to ignore him whenever he showed up.

"Is it necessary to take these trainings?" Onodera asked as the demon stepped onto the train and disappeared into the crowd of people.

"Only those who want to, I guess. It's not something regulated," Rin replied thoughtfully. "Maybe it should be though."

In truth, to regulate the whole of everyone who had accidentally ended up with the sight would require the whole world to agree and thus start training. There was no telling who did or didn't have the sight at all times, so to cover all bases it would have had to have been a worldwide distribution. Rin knew that such an option wasn't really feasible.

_Beep, beep, beep._ Rin looked at Ritsu as the older man pulled his phone from his pocket.

"It's from my mother," he said, blandly. "She wants me to help An-chan move some furniture."

"That's the fiancé, right?"

"No!" Ritsu snapped, then immediately felt remorse for taking it out on the kid. "I mean, we were, but I don't love her that way. I've told her no and I told my mother no too. They don't seem to want to listen."

"Is it a bad thing to have someone who cares about you like that though? My father used to go out of his way to make sure I didn't feel like an outcast, even though I was."

Over the course of the month Ritsu had learned almost everything there was to know about the son of Satan. How he was ostracized as a kid because of his behavior, which eventually brought about his understanding of his true form. On a personal level he could empathize with the kid since people thought someone who was the devil's spawn would be evil, just like everyone thought that the son of the publishing company would be brilliant. Then there were those few who thought differently. In Rin's case it had been people who believed that genetics had nothing to do with it. For Ritsu it had been that people thought he was only riding his father's brilliance and he had none of his own. Yes, they were different, but there was a certain kinship that had blossomed over the course of the few weeks.

"I'll come and help you move the furniture. We'll get done faster."

"Don't you have something better to do, like study?"

Rin grinned. Of course he should be studying, but that would mean having to face his brother and a whole barrage of questions. That was not something he wanted to do since he had been sneaking off a lot lately. He was sure his brother would try and follow him, but that hadn't happened yet. If such an occurrence did happen, then his key would be taken away.

"Right now I have nothing better to do than follow an old man around as he helps his apparently incapable girlfriend," he sing-songed, which earned him a glare.

"You are an ass," Ritsu snarled, but motioned for the next subway car. It wouldn't have done any good to get rid of the punk; he was as stubborn as his mom and An-chan put together.

/GG/

The smile on An-chan's face was quickly extinguished when Ritsu noticed her gaze fall on Okumura's form. He knew his friend didn't approve of him keeping company with kids, but it wasn't as if it wasn't warranted. He knew the minute they finished with the furniture he'd get a call from his mom demanding to know why he was still letting the kid hang around.

His mind suddenly floated to Saga-senpai. An-chan hadn't been particularly happy with him wanting to spend so much time with someone she didn't know. His parents hadn't quite figured things out, which was probably why An-chan had become a sort of spy into Ritsu's life. Whenever something new happened, or Onodera met someone else, his mother was almost instantly informed. While his time with senpai had been brief, it had made an everlasting impression on his life.

"Hey, you awake in there, Onodera-san?" Rin was waving his hand in front of the older man's face. Ritsu had zoned out for a spell and even missed the greeting the girl had given them.

"Sorry," Ritsu mumbled his apology before nodding to An-chan.

"Ri-chan, I didn't know you were with someone else," she stated politely. "Sorry to be a bother."

"It's okay," Ritsu said was a smile. "Okumura-kun was working on something with me and offered to help so we could get done faster."

Her face visibly fell with those words. He knew that she had wanted him to stay longer.

"I was hoping we could get dinner after we moved the dresser," An-chan said, words thick with hope.

Onodera felt his heart beat faster as he looked from her face to Rin's. On the one hand, he'd been spending quite a bit of time with the kid lately and he didn't want to neglect his other friends. Contrary-wise, he had told Okumura that he'd meet up with him as often as possible for the first few months to ensure he didn't start to have any 'issues' with the changes that had occurred. Three months was hardly a long time in the grand scheme of things.

Rin could see the stress in Onodera-san's features as he seemed to be weighing the options. "I can leave after we finish this if you want to get a bite to eat with her, Onodera-san. We can meet up later."

Ritsu felt both grateful and a little depressed at the offer. He couldn't turn An-chan down with that on the table, but by kicking Rin out of the group he was treating him rather poorly in her stead.

"It's okay, I have homework that I could be doing, remember?" Rin winked at him with a smile. "So, let's get this dresser moved, shall we?"

/GG/

Once the dresser had been moved, Rin took his leave. In truth, he'd been a little disappointed that Onodera hadn't offered to take him along, but he also knew that if it had been him in the other man's place he'd have not wanted to offend the girl either. It was clear to Rin that Onodera was not in love with An-chan, yet she seemed to be head-over-heels for him. He wondered if the editor could even see how much she adored him.

Not much had been given to the half demon with regards to Onodera's past. He knew that the man was working as a literature editor and that he'd spent some time abroad. He deduced that at some point Ritsu had been in some sort of brief love affair which hadn't ended well, because the man was not willing to talk about what his life was like as a teenager. Obviously that was when whatever had happened had taken place.

Rin wasn't what anyone would call a patient individual. He was curious to know more about this other man, so, in order to get him to open up more, he'd been willing to share every detail about his personal life. It wasn't that he liked talking about himself; it was to help the two communicate freely with one another. Helping someone like Onodera was new to him, so he didn't quite know the proper way of handling things. And it wasn't as if anyone in his world was willing to help. Whenever he casually brought up the idea of helping one of the people, the kind he'd labeled _others_, with the new sight, his friends all laughed. It was like they lived in their own little world and no one else on Earth existed.

He wasn't even sure he was helping the man, but Onodera had been taking things in stride. Rin had commented that he should just ignore the demons and not draw attention to himself. Onodera had listened and it seemed to work just fine. The literature editor knew that the demons were there, but he went about his life as if nothing had changed. Okumura considered the thought that it would have been similar to someone who had seen aliens, or had been given top-secret information regarding the government. Instead of dwelling on it, they went about their lives as if nothing had changed.

So lost in thought was he that Rin didn't realize he wandered back to their meeting place at the subway. What surprised him more was that Onodera had just stepped off the train and run smack into him.

"Rin-kun! I thought you were going to do your homework?" Onodera asked, in a rushed tone.

The boy shook his head. "I must have lost track of time," he answered with a yawn. "What time is it, anyway?"

Ritsu held out his phone; it said 11:03.

"I really did lose track of time," he stated. "Did you have fun on your date?"

"It wasn't a date," Ritsu said with a blush. "Please, stop calling her that. I really don't have that feeling in my head for her. I want at least one person I know to see that and acknowledge it."

Rin could hardly deny the man who looked rather broken up about being teased regarding the situation. So, he decided to relent and let the matter go.

"Let me give you some more information on demonic possession as we walk to your place and I'll use your door to go home."

Ritsu nodded and asked a question immediately. "What happens if I get possessed?"

"Hopefully nothing and you don't remember anything after the fact. I can only imagine what it must be like to have that sort of evil take over your body."

"Then how do we remove that evil?"

"Either it leaves on its own or it needs to be exorcised. I did some checking and there are some legitimate exorcists near the Catholic Church a few blocks from your apartment. I've already made them aware that you are able to see demons, so if I am not around you can get help from them."

Just the idea that the kid had taken so much time to help him made Ritsu feel important. The young man was going out of his way to help and Ritsu knew there'd be no way he could possibly pay the youth back for everything he'd done.

The two continued to banter until they reached Onodera's apartment. Ritsu opened the door and they stepped over the threshold. He knew that once he shut his door Rin could use his key and open the door to his home. The idea fascinated him and he actually enjoyed watching it.

"Thanks for your help today, Rin-kun. I know I kind of left you out when An-chan wanted me to eat with her."

Rin nodded. "It's okay, Onodera-san. I know that you need your other friends, too."

Ritsu leaned down to untie his shoes. Once the kid left he had every intention in getting into the bath and then falling asleep for as long as he could. One foot free, he placed it onto his floor, but lost his footing and fell backward. At some point he'd reached out and grabbed hold of Rin and pulled the boy down with him.

Once his eyes settled he noticed that he was lying on his back on the floor and Rin was half lying on top of him. The younger man pushed himself up and looked at Onodera with wide eyes. The editor didn't know what came over him, but in that moment he felt a need he hadn't felt in years.

"Are you o..?"

Rin couldn't get the last word out as he felt Ritsu's hand shoot up and pull his face down to his own. When his lips were claimed, he stopped being able to form a coherent sentence, and, the next thing he knew, he was snaking his hands behind his elder and deepening the kiss. The feel of the other man beneath him had awakened something he hadn't even known existed.

Ritsu wasn't aware of how, or why, but eventually their forms were moving to the bedroom.


	6. Part: The Sixth

Hello all, and thank you for dropping by. I am doing a double upload tonight since I will be flying back to America from China this evening after a year abroad (in China, that doesn't count all the other countries I've been to in the last four years). I'll post the next chapter on or around Christmas Eve.

Thanks to everyone for reading and a special thanks to Risque Tendencies for all her help with my crappy grammar. Cheers!

/GG/

What About the Others

Part: The Sixth

For a while after the fact, neither were willing to move. They just lay in the bed, covered, and staring at the ceiling with eyes wide. It wasn't until Ritsu insisted, that, due to it being Rin's first time, they should get cleaned off. So the next hour saw two rather embarrassed men sitting in Onodera's bathroom while washing every inch of their respective bodies.

"I'm sorry," Ritsu finally mumbled after he made sure the kid wasn't hurt or bleeding. "I don't know what came over me."

Rin, for his part, knew that it wasn't the older man's fault they'd just had sex. He'd never let someone tell him sorry when it wasn't warranted. "It's not like I told you to stop," he deadpanned.

"I know, but that still doesn't give someone my age permission to do…_that._" He ducked his head in embarrassment.

"You mean have sex?" Rin knew he was baiting the literature editor by using the word since the very act of copulation seemed to make the other feel uncomfortable.

"I just didn't think I'd ever…" Onodera said softly. "With another man…that is," he added silently.

Okumura scoffed. "I never pictured myself doing it with a man either, so we're even."

Ritsu still couldn't shake the feeling that what had just happened was wrong on multiple levels. He couldn't even recall being that frenzied with Saga-senpai, so he couldn't figure out what had come over him. The instinct seemed to flood back into his brain and he'd searched out that young body like it was water and he'd been in the desert for days. Just the feel of Rin's skin being in contact with his own had set his animalistic passion on fire. The last time he'd been with Saga-senpai he couldn't remember taking much of an active role, whereas with this kid he'd led the way; like it was the natural thing to do.

"The last time I'd been with a man, I was around your age," he admitted to the teenager, who had just finished wiping himself off with a towel. "It wasn't anything like this though, I was…." He couldn't say it.

"You mean you were the uke?" Okumura asked, like it was no big deal. Onodera nodded. "So, you had never been the seme before today?"

"I've only ever been with one other man, and he…" Ritsu wanted to use the word damaged, but he didn't want the other's pity. "Let's just say it didn't end well."

Rin nodded his understanding. He was far from an expert; not that he hadn't read a few manga on the subject out of pure curiosity once. This man was as jaded as they came.

"Of course, he didn't have…" Ritsu stopped and pointed toward Rin's tail, which caused the boy to grin slightly. "So…" Embarrassment made Onodera flush as he recalled the feeling of being penetrated while he himself had penetrated the younger boy's body with his own need. The feeling had been so startling it just about caused him to climax instantly.

The boy cackled. "Did you honestly think I was going to let you stick something inside of me and not use what I have to stick something inside of you too?" Yes, he had learned from some _interesting_ manga.

Onodera sweat dropped, walked from the bathroom to the front room, and sat down on his sofa. He was glad there was a towel covering parts of his anatomy that had started to react to the feeling again.

"I did, a-a-actually," he stuttered. "But I-I-I kind o-of thought it would be y-your…" Again, he couldn't get the word out.

"So, you'll let me?" Rin covered his face with his hands when he realized what he'd just said.

"It was a thought in the heat of the moment!" Onodera snapped in embarrassment. Then he lifted his head up and looked at that appendage that had just an hour ago been inside of him. "How did you manage to get a condom on your tail, you know, while we..?"

Rin thought back to that moment. It had been after he'd placed a condom on the older man's cock. Said older man was looking a little flushed at that point and the kid knew what was coming, so he had taken a second condom and slipped it on his tail while Onodera had positioned himself on top.

"I did it after I put the condom on you. I didn't want my tail to be slimed with your juices," he said, eyebrows arched.

Ritsu had no response to this. The word juices resonated throughout his body and he felt himself start to come alive again. If he didn't do something, he'd need to take a cold shower to calm down; after all, it wasn't like he was ever going to ask the poor boy to do _that_ again with him. It was definitely a one-time thing.

"You wanna go again, Onodera-san?" Rin asked with a shy smile.

In his head he was shouting out 'No!' over and over and over again. He could not take advantage of this boy; not after what Saga had done to him. He wasn't going to let this kid claim any part of his heart. Of course what the heart and body want can sometimes overpower the brain.

The next thing Ritsu knew, he was standing and walking toward the kid. He wrapped Rin in a giant hug and immediately felt the boy's sharp teeth biting into his shoulder. The feeling caused him to lose his foothold and the two tumbled to the ground. He was going to be the uke this time, he could tell by the way the fire in the kid's eyes burned. Common sense had just flown out the window and he didn't care. Onodera Ritsu, jaded editor, was about to let someone else take over his heart.

/GG/

When morning came around, Onodera took a count. They'd been intimate throughout the night, ending in multiple orgasms on both ends. Okay, so it wasn't much of a count, but he knew he'd been inside of the boy at least three times. He couldn't quite remember how many times Okumura-kun had been inside of him since that damn tail of his insisted on being up his ass when Onodera was inside of Okumura. Eventually Onodera even insisted that Okumura go inside of himself, just to feel what it was like from his end. The look on the youth's face was the last thing he saw before he passed out from pure exhaustion.

He looked over at the boy, who was lying on his side, head near Ritsu's, breathing in evenly. The kid was completely worn out and it was his fault; he'd turned into a pervert all because of one misstep when entering into the house. His chest felt heavy when he realized he'd initiated the kid around the same age that he himself had lost his virginity. Onodera didn't want Rin to become someone like him, so he prayed silently that the boy was okay.

Ritsu didn't need to worry, for Rin had indeed enjoyed their little tryst. So much in fact, that he was still dreaming about it in the form of a rather graphic wet dream. He didn't even wake up until he heard the other man yelp when he spurt another load onto his new lover's stomach, much to said lover's utter embarrassment.

"Sorry," Rin said sheepishly as he used his hand to wipe the spunk off.

"That's okay," Ritsu answered as he stood up to go take a shower. They'd both need one and then he had to get to work while Rin needed to get to school. "Come on, we both need another shower." He could hardly look at the guy as he motioned for him to follow.

In fact, he didn't even look at him while they were in the shower. Never in his life had he gone at it all night long with someone. Each time had been different too. Once they fucked one another senseless. Another time was pure making love; hands locked together as one. Yet another was purely animalistic sex. But each and every time made both see stars.

"You don't regret this, do you?" Rin asked when Ritsu wouldn't even look at him while they donned their clothes.

"No," Ritsu admitted, though he didn't really want to. "I just don't want to have taken something from you like I had taken from me." He looked up at the boy's blue eyes. "I want you to trust me, but as your elder I've done something that betrayed that trust, completely."

Rin had heard enough by that point. Was this man so jaded he couldn't see the forest through all the trees?

"Listen, I still trust you. Believe me when I say that as the son of Satan I can pretty much stop you from doing anything to me at any point. It wouldn't be pretty either." Then, he added an afterthought, "I don't regret anything we did last night…I liked it," he said humbly.

Ritsu looked at the youth with wide eyes and realized he was telling the truth; Rin was more than capable of killing him without a second glance if necessary. If he hadn't wanted their night of passion to happen it most certainly wouldn't have happened. Him even admitting he enjoyed it made the weight of the world lift from his shoulders.

"I have to admit something to you also, Onodera-san," Rin said timidly as he picked up his sword. "I'm not really experienced in this, so what exactly does this make us?"

Not even the elder of the two had an answer to that question. So he said he'd think about it and talk to him later that night. Ritsu then walked the boy to his front door and watched as he used his key to open up the door to his school. Just as he was getting ready to wave good-bye, Rin pulled him in for a quick kiss before walking through the door.

Onodera stood in his doorway, fingers on his lips, as he tried to figure out if lover was the correct word after only one night.

/GG/

Rin walked through the hallway and with each step his shoulders slumped. While he had been truthful in that he didn't regret their coming together, he didn't know if he was worthy. Was the son of Satan allowed to have sex, fall in love even? These thoughts plagued his brain as he walked toward the main school for his lessons, which he didn't really pay attention to.

It wasn't until after his normal classes were over that morning, that he'd had a chance to think more on the subject. Okumura found himself sitting on a stone bench away from the beaten path, just so he could hear himself think. His mind was racing through everything it could think of to give him permission to be with someone, but the fact that he was part devil kept causing him to think he wasn't worthy of anything.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't see Suguro show up out of nowhere and stand directly in front of him.

"Hey, Okumura," the kid asked, "you awake?"

"Uh?" Rin nodded, but didn't focus on the person.

"What happen? Shiemi finally confess to your brother?" Suguro suggested, with a laugh.

Rin sat up. "She did?" he asked.

"Okay, maybe you're losing your hearing. You've been spending too much time listening to loud music." Suguro sat down and looked at his rival. Something was definitely up.

"I'm sorry," Rin said with a scowl. "I've got something important on my mind and I can't find the answer."

"That's not a surprise, it's not like you're a good student anyway."

"This has nothing to do with school!" Rin snarled. "It's on a personal level."

He looked away and started to let his mind wander again until his classmate brought him back.

"So, spill. Let's see what this big problem is if it's making the great Okumura Rin lose control."

Rin respected Suguro as an exorcist in training, but the fact that he was a monk in practice made him feel that if he did tell the guy, he might be able to answer his own questions. The only thing he wanted was a vow of silence from him to ensure his brother wasn't made aware.

"Can you keep it to yourself, or will you talk the first chance you get?"

Suguro put a finger over his mouth. "My lips are sealed, son of Satan."

Rin glowered; he hated being called that.

"I met someone."

Suguro glared for a moment before responding. "You mean someone other than Shiemi?"

"He's older than me; he lives in Tokyo."

This caused the other boy to cough and gulp air like it was going out of style. "It's a he? Wait, how did you meet him in Tokyo?"

"That point doesn't matter," Rin snapped. "What matters is that last night we had sex."

For a moment there was silence and then there was a deep sigh. "So, you had sex? Did you use protection?"

Of course that should be the first question anyone asked when talking to someone about their first time having sex. To Rin it sounded a little condescending and he glared at his friend.

"Yes, every time we did _it_ we used protection."

"Wait, it was more than one time? With a guy?" Suguro was in awe as well as a little alarmed that someone would have that much sex on the first night.

"I don't recall a number exactly, but it was quite a bit."

"Did you like it?"

Rin nodded.

"Do you have any regrets?"

Rin shook his head.

"Then what's the problem? It's not like you aren't past the age of consent in this country."

Rin frowned and lowered his head even further. "It's because I'm the son of Satan. Do I deserve to have that sort of relationship being who I am?"

Suguro whistled. That was a pretty big question.

"Did you speak to this guy about your concerns?"

"No, because I could tell he was worried about the fact that he's 23 and I'm a teenager." Suguro nodded. "I didn't want to freak him out any more than he was because I don't regret what we did."

"But you're worried that because of having family, which you have no control over, that is looked down on in society, you yourself don't deserve what everyone does?"

Rin nodded; Suguro had hit the nail on the head.

"Listen, Okumura," Suguro said as he put an arm around the other's shoulder. "Just because you were born to the biggest asshole in history doesn't make you bad. That whole sins of the father thing is a load of hogwash. You've proven yourself about the evil that is Satan, so don't let his stigma pull you down."

In truth it sounded good coming from the other's mouth, but it didn't quite bring Rin to where he needed to be. Suguro seemed to catch onto this predicament, so he continued speaking.

"You're a man, just like the rest of us, Okumura, which means that you are going to have feelings and desires. Yes, you didn't wait for marriage, but if you like this guy, I mean really like him, enough to hand over your innocence, then you know that you are not your father."

This was true. Rin could feel a smile on his face when he thought about the stubborn older man who had fallen into his life. And he wasn't fully demon; he was half a man too. Men deserved to be happy, and if the editor made him happy, who was he to deny himself?

"Now, are you really going to keep this a secret from your brother? You're twins, right? Maybe he felt what you were feeling when you were, you know…" Suguro asked. "Wait, were you the uke or the seme?"

Rin eyed him cheekily. "Both," he stated.


	7. Part: The Seventh

Hello all and thank you for tuning in for yet another chapter of this story. I am glad people are enjoying it as much as I am enjoying writing. It's been fun thus far.

Thanks to Risque Tendencies for reading over this chapter to make sure I didn't muck it up too bad.

Happy Holidays!

/GG/

What About the Others

Part: The Seventh

The son of Satan actually found himself rather nervous as he waited for Onodera to return from work. After spending the night in a heated embrace that had left both of them rather exhausted, he was worried the older man would have thought better of their _situation._ After his talk with Suguro, Rin didn't want to stop whatever rollercoaster ride he and the editor had gotten onto. Sure, he definitely hadn't expected to fall in love with a man, but he wasn't quite sure it was love yet. Lust, most definitely. Desire, hell yes. Did he think he could live without the man? That was a question he didn't want to find out the answer to.

What he did know was that the idea of spending time with him in the future was enough to send goose bumps from the tip of his tail to the top of his head. He wasn't sure what that meant, but Rin was sure that meant he was at least on the way to not just liking the guy. And let's face it, he really liked the guy if he was willing to sleep with him multiple times in a night.

But what had they done? Had sex? Fucked? Made love? Okumura wasn't quite sure which of _those_ what they'd done would fall into. Right now, he was going to place the night into the sex category until he'd had a chance to do some research on the subject. The thought of asking Onodera what they'd done made him blush to the tips of his ears.

Then he saw the man, standing just a few feet from him, and looking rather nervous in his own right. So, Okumura plastered on his trademark grin and walked forward.

"Onodera-san!" he called, hoping he didn't sound too eager. Was that how it was when someone finally lost their virginity, they couldn't wait to have sex again?

"Okumura-kun," Onodera said with a slight smile. He was glad to see the boy because in truth he'd figured the lad wouldn't have come back. While Rin had said that he didn't regret anything, Ritsu couldn't help but feel like he'd taken advantage of the kid and it reminded him too much of Saga-senpai. Thinking of himself in that manner made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I think it's time to talk," he continued, trying to be the grownup in their little tryst.

Rin could feel himself droop a little at these words. Did that mean that Onodera was going to tell him to stay away? He hoped not.

Onodera could feel the atmosphere, thick with worry, as he led the younger man back to his apartment. How he wished he could disappear to somewhere else in that moment, but if he didn't set some boundaries and ground rules, then things might end up with both of them hurt as much as he was during his last relationship. God forbid he ever make the kid feel as he felt when he was brushed off.

Okumura could feel the aura emanating from his elder and it didn't feel like someone who was going to break things off. More than likely he was just nervous and denying his own feelings. He watched as the man opened the door to the apartment and then walked inside. Rin followed over the threshold and put his belongings next to Onodera's. He didn't know when he'd felt safe enough in that apartment to leave his sword next to the door in the front room, but he did. Maybe it was because he didn't want to appear too menacing to the man.

It was then that a crash sounded from outside that caused Rin to blaze up, which in turn caused Onodera to fall back. Okumura grabbed hold of him while still lit and he could see the fear in Onodera's eyes. Immediately he stopped the blaze and helped Ritsu to his feet.

"Sorry," Rin apologized in shame. "I'm usually much better at controlling myself than that."

Onodera didn't quite know where to begin as he finished getting the tea ready. He'd come to the conclusion while at work that it was nice to have someone who actually believed in his abilities like the kid did. He didn't want to lose that, even if he had corrupted the youth in the process.

Ritsu also knew that it ran deeper, for while he was afraid of Rin, he also admired him in many ways. He knew that the kid was learning to be an exorcist and that was something he'd never even known existed before meeting him. It was also brought to his attention that as the son of Satan there were certain stigmas the poor boy had had to endure while growing up. In truth, he admired Rin more than he'd be willing to admit.

"I think," he mumbled slightly as he sat down at the coffee table. "I think we need to set some ground rules for this relationship of ours."

When the blue-eyed youth heard the word relationship his heart soared. The very idea that his elder wasn't going to throw him away made him giddy and hornier than he'd been the prior night.

"I think it's a good idea that we take it a little slower than what happened last night. I don't recall all of it, but…" Onodera stopped and looked at the kid, who was doing his best not to look like someone who had just been given a new car. "Those flames, can they hurt me?"

Okumura hadn't even thought about the flames before Ritsu brought them up. They were a part of him, but he did know that if they were to go off in certain situations, that would not end well.

"I've been told they can, but I am getting better at controlling them," he admitted.

"I think it's best we keep from doing _that_ until you are sure you aren't going to burn me to a crisp while in the middle."

Rin grinned. "You mean we can continue having sex?" he asked, giddy.

Ritsu cringed at the use of the word, but nodded. "Only if your homework is done, you aren't required to hunt anything, and you have to keep your grades up."

"What!" Rin shrieked. "When did you become my brother?"

"I mean it," Ritsu said with a shudder. "You have this amazing gift and I'm not going to allow you to lose sight of your goal just because we started this bizarre relationship."

Okumura pondered what the editor had said for a few moments. The man was definitely looking out for him if he insisted on him remaining in school. Of course the thought of having to jack off instead of fuck depressed him slightly, but he had to admit that it was a good incentive to learn more about his powers. The very idea of burning Onodera-san to a cinder while they were being passionate actually came to his mind and it caused a tear to roll down his cheek.

He looked at Onodera, who was looking anywhere but him, and turned the man's face toward his. "I accept your challenge!"

"It wasn't…" Ritsu tried to speak, but was immediately glomped and his lips were taken by the younger man's. He didn't resist since he knew that wasn't going to work, so he moaned into the kiss and allowed the younger man to kiss him senseless for a few more minutes before they both pulled back for air.

"I can promise you that I will learn how to control my abilities as quickly as possible!" Rin was excited now.

"This isn't a challenge though, Okumura-kun. The way you've spoken about your world scares me," Onodera didn't actually want to continue the line of talk.

In that moment it became clear to Rin that maybe him just being there wasn't enough to help someone overcome the ability to see demons. That was probably why it was a lost cause in his brother's eyes. The man was obviously very shaken at their new relationship as well as his life change. Maybe Onodera had been putting on an act for him.

"I can't offer you much, but I can promise to watch out for you." That was all he had to offer. "I give myself to you for this very reason."

Onodera knew the kid was trying to make him feel better. He knew that as much as it scared him to be with the boy, it also had started to scare him to be without him more.

/GG/

After a little more discussion that put both men at ease, and a two hour make-out session that ended with both jacking one another off, Ritsu was able to crawl into bed and let sleep take hold. Earlier that day he'd run into a demon the size of an elephant running amok through town. He'd ignored the thing and walked past it just like anyone else who couldn't see it. Even when the police had started questioning why things were combusting on their own, he'd kept his mouth shut. Onodera didn't know how long he'd be able to keep up the façade that nothing was weird.

So, he ended up in a fitful sleep, allowing the darkness to consume him and he started to have a dream about his time with Saga.

"_Saga-senpai," the doe-eyed boy asked, shyly. "Will we always fit together like this?"_

_The older boy didn't answer, just pulled Ritsu closer and started to penetrate him. _

The scene changed.

"_Onodera-san," Rin asked as he gritted his teeth. "Are we always gonna fit together like this?"_

_Ritsu looked at the flushed face of the boy who was straddling him. There was sweat dripping from his hair and it landed on the sheets that were wet and slick with three different bodily fluids. _

"_Yes, Okumura-kun, we will," he thought, but didn't say it out loud. He couldn't say such embarrassing things using his voice. So he pulled the youth closer and kissed him. _

The scene changed a second time.

"_Senpai! I brought this for us to try!" Onodera called as he raced into the library with some new rice balls offered by the school. _

_Saga rolled his eyes, but took the offering. Onodera ignored the eye roll and ate his, happily. He was glad to be sharing this with the one he loved and adored. _

"_Let's try something else tomorrow?" he asked, hopefully. Saga just nodded which caused Ritsu to quake with excitement. _

And a third.

"_Okumura-kun, would you like to try these? they're pretty good." _

_Onodera had decided he wanted to walk rather than take the subway on a nice day, so Rin had come to his place of business again. The two had walked along in silence until Ritsu had seen a similar rice ball stand to the one he'd had by his school. He didn't know why, but he knew he had to try them with the boy. _

"_Sure! I am always in the mood to eat." The look on Rin's face reminded Onodera of his own when he'd been infatuated with Saga. _

The scene changed again.

"_I don't think I can love again," Onodera cried softly into his pillow that night. "Why would he laugh?"_

And the scene changed again.

"_But why?" Okumura asked, tears in his eyes. "I can't give up who I am. If I did, I don't know that I would feel about you like I do."_

"_We are in two different worlds Okumura-kun," Ritsu said as he tried to keep his own tears at bay. "I can't keep you from becoming something and I don't want you to be the one who has to protect me all the time. I don't need anyone anymore!"_

The scene changed one last time.

_Onodera looked into the mirror on the night he'd decided to leave school and never see Saga-senpai again. He had tears streaking down his face and his green eyes were alight with sadness. Then, superimposed onto his own face was the face of Okumura-kun. The boy was also crying and looked like he'd just lost the most important thing in the world to him. _

The dream ended abruptly as Onodera sat up, gasping for breath. He put his hand to his forehead and wiped the sweat from his brow. Each section of that dream was something he remembered except for the last two. Sure, he recalled looking at his sad face in the mirror, but he didn't recall hurting Rin in such a way as to make him feel like he felt after his breakup with Saga.

He wasn't going to allow it. Onodera knew that their relationship was doomed from the start, but he was never going to make the boy cry like that.

/GG/

Ritsu woke up after falling back into a stressed sleep and got ready for work. Just because he'd gone off the deep end didn't mean he could skirt his responsibilities. After all, Usami Akihiko was meant to come into the office and Onodera knew that the man rarely went outside unless necessary. The last time he'd met with the man he'd also been introduced to the man's friend, a literature professor, by the name of Kamijou Hiroki. Ritsu knew just by looking at the man that he was the reason Akihiko tended to leave his own place rather than make him come out to his.

Thus, Onodera found himself walking along the path to the subway as he normally did, work in sight and a high-school aged demon on his mind. He knew from previous experience that the minute someone took over your brain it was too late. After his dream that prior night and early morning he knew, without a doubt, that Rin was going to be a big part of his life for the foreseeable future.

He stood at the gate to the subway, bag clutched to his chest and let the conversations drone on in the background until he could feel something behind him.

"Do you smell that?"

Ritsu ignored the conversation.

"It's him, Satan's son."

Now he started to pay attention and look around. What was Rin doing in the area? Or maybe his brother was there. Wait, how could they smell the kid?

"I smell it too, it's over here."

Ritsu could feel them sniffing around behind him and then immediately he was stuck between two men who looked like they belonged on the cover of a yakuza manga.

"It's him!"

That was when he realized that they could smell Rin on his person. Immediately he flushed a deep shade of purple as he wondered what could have caused the stench to linger.

"It's his seed, I can smell the seed of the son of Satan."

At this Onodera knew exactly what they smelled on him. They could smell Rin's spunk, even though they had worn condoms, one of them must have broken at some point or it was from when the kid had expelled while not inside of him.

Two slimy arms wrapped around Ritsu and he grimaced again.

"My, my. Seems like the son of Satan has been spreading seed of his own," one of the men said with a sneer.

"I say we take him with us and use him as blackmail."

Ritsu couldn't even speak as they let him away from the subway. He felt as if something were keeping him from actually being able to focus. The last thing he felt was a sharp blow to the head.


	8. Part: The Eighth

Hello, and welcome to another crazy chapter of this fun story. I am glad to see people are enjoying it as much as I've enjoyed writing the piece.

This chapter goes to Eraser Bitz: Happy Birthday!

This chapter was also corrected by the beautiful and talented Risque Tendencies, without which there would be way too many errors that my fingers cannot correct on their own.

Thanks for dropping by, Cheers!

/GG/

What About the Others

Part: The Eighth

Rin had almost fallen asleep in class before the lack of murmuring and talking woke him up. He opened his eyes only to stare into the face of Mephisto, surveying him with an impish grin on his face.

"Let me see here," the man crooned. "He doesn't look any different."

"What in the hell are you going on about?" Okumura spit, as he stood up and knocked his chair over.

"His reaction time is a little delayed though," Mephisto continued.

"What is this all about?" Yukio asked, confusion lacing his face. He saw that no one else seemed to get why the head of the school had decided to pay them a sudden visit either.

Mephisto grinned, evilly. "I am just stating that sex hasn't seemed to change the son of Satan, physically, though I am wondering what it did here," he indicated the boy's head, "and here," he indicated the boy's heart.

"Cut the shit!" Okumura snarled, as he turned and eyed Suguro. The look on his friend's face was enough to convey that _he_ hadn't spilled the _secret._

"But you admit that you have gone and lost that which is most important to a person, right?" Mephisto asked, with a smirk.

"That's none of your fucking business," Rin said, calmly, before turning red at the fact that he'd just admitted it to everyone in the room.

"Why don't you tell us all about what it was like to have sex with the man?"

Rin glared, trying to keep his cool, but didn't say anything.

"My, my, my. It seems that it wasn't just little Rin's virginity that the man has taken, but his heart as well."

For an instant the look in his older _brother's _eyes left him a little nervous, followed by a lot scared. "You leave him alone," he warned.

Mephisto laughed. "Oh, but Rin-chan, I don't have any reason for going after this man," he chirped with a little dance. "Besides, someone's already snagged him."

Okumura could feel his blood run cold, and he staggered, only to be caught by Moriyama on one side and Suguro on the other. A million questions raced through his mind along with a million things someone could have been doing to Onodera-san. For a moment he was glad he had some control of his flames or, he may have burned everyone in the area.

"What do you mean?" he finally asked in a panic.

"How else do you think I found out about your little tryst?" Mephisto giggled. "It must have been quite a bit though, to leave that much of an imprint on the man. The demons thought they had found the son of Satan by the smell. It's rather laughable, then again, Onodera Ritsu has about as much intelligence as you, I suppose."

At this comment Rin lost it, and flung himself at the other demon with all of his strength. He latched onto the other's neck with his hands, eyes burning with disgust, and body blazing with harsh blue flames.

"Don't. Talk. About. Him. Like. That." Each word was accompanied with a shake of his hands.

"Rin-san!"

Within moments, half a dozen people had jumped onto Rin's back and pulled him away from the headmaster. Yukio continued speaking.

"Rin, don't let him bait you."

Okumura looked at his little brother before glaring at Mephisto again. "Tell me what you know."

Mephisto smiled and did an about face. "If you want to find out what happened to your little bedroom buddy, then come to my office. I am sure you don't want me letting any more of your childish antics come to view." The demon grinned and walked out the door before Rin even had a chance to retort.

He felt his legs become heavy, and if he hadn't been supported by a few of his friends, he would have easily fallen onto his face. As it was, the black-haired youth was doing everything in his power to keep from going postal on anyone's ass. Each breath felt like it was cutting into his heart and he willed himself not to cry at the thought of losing yet another person who had become important to him because of his birth heritage.

"Nii-san?"

Okumura looked into the face of his brother, who looked both pissed and concerned. That was quite the talent and Rin knew he'd be in for some hell once he could think straight.

"Nii-san, let's go to him together and try to sort this mess out," Yukio offered.

"What if they…?" he asked.

"Don't think that, I am sure he's okay," Shiemi said, soothingly.

"None of you guys are even aware of what's going on, so I don't expect anyone to help," he stated as he started to walk forward and felt his knees give way as he tumbled to the ground. It was like he was falling in slow motion as he finally came face to face with the floor.

Suguro walked forward and smacked him upside the head. "What have we told you about doing things on your own?" he all but snarled. "We're not letting you do this shit alone again. It burns me that you were keeping such a big thing a secret from everyone in the first place."

"Wait, you knew?" Yukio asked before glaring at his brother.

"I did, but it was a private conversation," Suguro stated as he helped Rin off the floor. "When someone tells me something like that in confidence, I don't go blabbing like a grade-schooler."

Rin was about ready to run out of the building and chase down some assholes, but he knew if he did there'd be more than hell to pay when he got back, so he accepted their help with a slight nod.

"Tell us more about this guy so we know how to help find him."

Rin wasn't sure who said that, but he spilled everything, without going into too much detail.

/GG/

He was in hell; there was no other way to describe it. Onodera woke up slowly, lying in a small pool of his own blood, and smelling of his own urine. Waking up to that was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do in his life. Even the day after he'd left Saga hadn't been that difficult. What he really wanted to do was let his life slip away from him, especially after he got a good look at whatever the attackers kept as pets came sniffing around, but he wouldn't give into such an easy way out. If Ritsu was anything, it was a survivor. All he needed to do was survive this shit and he could break away from the new life he'd started and start again, away from all the demon crap that had been happening in his life.

Slowly he turned to his back and realized he'd also released excrement into his pants. He could feel wetness on his back from god knows what, and it honestly felt as if someone had drilled a hole in his leg. When Onodera tried to move the leg he found out why it felt as if someone had drilled a hole in it; someone had. He looked at the appendage and noticed there was a metal chain going through the space between his lower leg bones, and it had him attached to a pipe in the floor. He didn't know whether he wanted to scream in fright, or pain, but he was sure his pain receptors had all but decided to stop functioning since he couldn't feel anything at that point.

A tear slipped down his cheek as he lowered himself back onto the floor and closed his eyes. This was bad, real bad. Obviously the demons had possessed humans since they looked like any normal Joe off the streets. He vaguely recalled them making a comment about how they thought he was Okumura-kun. Not even the thought of the kid coming to save him gave him much hope. In other words, he'd hit rock bottom and had no idea if he'd be able to get back.

"Hey, that idiot's awake!"

Someone was talking about him, but he tried to drown it out. It wasn't like he was up to speaking to anyone, anyway.

"Hey, moron, wake up." He was kicked in the side and still didn't feel any pain, so obviously his brain had been overloaded. "You wanna tell us how you smell like Satan's heir?"

"_No," _he thought. _"I want to be left alone to die in peace."_

"This guy ain't talking, maybe we should start to wake his body up a little. Pain is a good way to get people to talk." This was followed by some cackling.

"Or, we could make use of him. I haven't had sex in eons." Another round of cackling.

Onodera could feel his heart beating and the fear in his head was deafening. Maybe it wasn't that his head had stopped his body from feeling pain. If the creatures who had taken human form had dulled his pain receptors and removed whatever the anesthetic was, then he was in for one hell of a pain burst. He didn't know which was worse, the idea of feeling the pain his leg would shoot off, or having them have their way with him.

"Why don't we do both?" It was a third voice this time. More snickering. "If we took him off the drugs, then we could stuff him full. Doesn't he look like an uke to you anyway?"

At this comment he'd had enough. It was one thing to end up in a fix like this, but another entirely for them to speak as if he wasn't even there.

"You idiots can go ahead and do whatever you want with me. I will not speak about this son of Satan you are after, and even if I did, it would all be lies anyway!" he snarled.

This outburst took the other occupants, and their animals, by surprise. Seven sets of eyes turned and faced him. Then four of the sets, attached to humans, started to laugh.

"You heard him, let's have some fun!" This time it was the fourth demon in the group.

Onodera watched as they converged on him and took out the IV in his arm he didn't even know was there. He withdrew into his head, but that didn't stop him from hearing his own screaming when the pain finally hit his system.

/GG/

While Onodera was in the process of waking up, Rin had finally told his tale and went to speak with Mephisto regarding the whereabouts of one Onodera Ritsu. He knew, deep down, that it was more than likely his fault that the man had been taken. That was just something he didn't want to think about. The idea of the man he had started to grow fond of being used as a way to get at him made his blood boil.

Rin sat with Yukio in their guardian's office as the older demon put his feet up and smiled his trademark grin.

"I am glad you came to see me little brothers. I so very much wanted to discuss this issue with you," he said seriously.

"We can get to the punishment after we get Onodera-san back. How can you even think of sitting here and making small talk?" Rin spit, flames bursting again and setting the chair on fire.

Mephisto giggled as he put the fire out and winked at the elder of the twins. Then he feigned a pout. "I don't like how you have such little faith in me, your own guardian," he whined. "I had him tracked down and taken to the hospital before I even came to see you. I made sure the idiots who had taken over the human bodies were exorcised, and I even paid to have your little fuck buddy put into a private room."

The Okumura brothers didn't quite know what to believe. In truth, he hadn't ever lied to them before, but this was a strange situation.

"Prove it." Rin looked at his brother in astonishment. He wasn't expecting his baby brother to speak up for him in that manner.

"Oh, alright. Come with me," he stood up and put a key into the door of his office. When he opened up the door the boys could see a hospital bed and lying on said bed was the man himself, Onodera Ritsu. He looked to be sleeping comfortably.

"Onodera-san!" Rin shouted as he tried to burst into the room.

"Not so fast, Rin-chin," Mephisto said severely. "We still need to have a chat. I've proven to you that this man has been saved. Now we can have our talk."

"But what happened to him?" Rin asked. He wouldn't be able to think if he didn't know.

Mephisto sighed. "He has major damage to one leg, luckily it was saved, though it will not work like it used to. He has a few broken ribs that will set just fine. We caught the demons in the process of cutting the guy's pants off. From what we could gather it looked as if they were about to initiate him into the same club you'd initiated him into."

Okumura didn't even feel the tears that had begun to fall down his face. His brother had a hand on his shoulder and it was like the younger twin wasn't even there. Not even their guardian was in the picture. All he could see was the man, lying helpless on a hospital bed. He had a brief flash of his father as he killed himself a while back.

"Now," Mephisto said, shutting the door. "Let's talk about you using the keys to go to Tokyo, fucking this guy until he smelled like you, and what this does to your record here."

"Can't we give him a few moments to clear his head?" Yukio asked. Yes, he knew his brother was in a lot of trouble, but he also had enough of a heart to want his brother to stop hurting.

"No, Yukio-kun, we cannot. Your brother has used keys illegally, put someone in danger after being warned not to, and marked him. By marking this man he may end up smelling like the son of Satan forever, thus making him an unnecessary risk. After he is out of the hospital I will have him sent somewhere so he can be protected, but you are no longer allowed to have any contact with him, Okumura-kun."

Rin could hardly speak, so he just kind of nodded his head. He didn't really know what he was agreeing to. He just wanted to get that key on his guardian's belt and go back to the hospital. In no way could he be there right then when Onodera was lying in a bed somewhere.

"Are you listening, Rin-san, you need to give him your keys until this blows over."

"No!" shouted Rin at the top of his voice. "I will not surrender myself to this authority," he said with a glare. "Yes, I know what I did was wrong, but I also know that we don't offer help to the people we should and because of that there are countless lives lost, all because of me. I may not be able to save everyone, but I can save this one if I put my mind to it."

Mephisto raised an eyebrow, "And, what about the others, Okumura-kun? What should we do with all the ones we can't save?"

"I don't know, but even if I only save one life, at least that one less that dies!" he snapped.

At this the guardian of the sons of Satan threw back his head and laughed. "You are quite amusing, aren't you?" Both boys eyed the man with confusion. "I will let you keep him, but you have to get him to move here so he can be protected. That means he's going to need to leave behind his current life and never have anything to do with it again."

Eyes wide with shock, Yukio spoke. "You mean that you're going to give in to Nii-chan?"

Again, Mephisto grinned. "You really don't know me at all, my beloved brothers. Yes, I can be cruel, but even I can tell that this idiot here is in love, and while he's in love and separated from that other idiot, it means he won't be concentrating. He still has a long way to go and if bringing that human here means we might finally see some improvement in Okumura-kun's skill, then I am all for it."

Yukio rolled his eyes and stood up. "I don't get your jokes, Mephisto, but I won't argue you on this because I can't really think right now."

Rin, on the other hand, was still trying to process what had been said. If he could get Onodera to agree to move in with him and Yukio into the boy's boarding house, he could see the man all the time. He looked at Mephisto and motioned for the door and the key.

"Fine, whatever," Mephisto handed the key over and Okumura left. After the door shut to the hospital, Yukio walked out and back toward the dorm with a perplexed feeling in his head.

"That was all very anticlimactic," Amaimon deadpanned from his perch.

"Yes it was," Mephisto agreed. "But this isn't a story in which I cause the heartache and angst. Romeo and Juliet need to create their own."


	9. Part: The Ninth

I want to thank everyone for reading this little story of mine. I'm sure, in SIH-ville, this is not everyone's cup of tea since it incorporates characters from a series outside of Sensei's world. So I appreciate people are giving it a chance.

Sorry for the lengthy delay in uploading as well. Life kind of kicked me in the posterior.

Thanks again to the wonderful Risque Tendencies, without which all manner of errors would pop up in this story!

/GG/

What About the Others

Part: The Ninth

Time continued to pass on, but Okumura wasn't paying any attention to the passage of it. All he could do was sit in the hospital room and look after Onodera-san as the elder lay in the bed. The editor was breathing evenly and Rin watched as his chest rose and fell with each bit of air through his lips. On occasion the younger man would lie on the bed with Onodera-san and listen to the other's heartbeat; a reminder that even though he was sleeping he was still alive.

Three times already someone had come in and changed the bandages on the older man's leg. The sight was sickening, to say the least, and Rin could smell the blood and antibacterial medicines. His leg had been stitched together and was purple in color because of the wound. After all Rin had seen in his time as a demon halfling, this was the first time his stomach churned.

Maybe the sensation was because he knew, and was close to the one who had been harmed. He, the son of Satan, was the cause of Onodera-san's current condition. If he and the man hadn't consummated an already strange relationship then those lesser demons wouldn't have been able to smell his stench. If he hadn't insisted on letting the man go home every night, alone, then no one would have been hurt.

If, if, if…there were certainly a lot of ifs. Rin was more than smart enough to know that there was nothing he could do to change the past. They would have to deal with the ramifications together.

"Can I help?" Okumura asked as the nurse came in to give Onodera his sponge bath.

The nurse cocked his head to the side before answering. "Normally we're not supposed to allow others to assist in the event something happens, but in your case I think it would be okay."

The exorcist in training walked forward and helped to untie the clothes that hid his lover's flesh from his eyes. He could still see faint splotches of love bites on the man's torso and neck. His mind wandered back to the night that those red marks ended up on the man and it made him blush. Okumura had similar bites on parts of his anatomy as well.

Using delicate movements he started to wash Ritsu's chest with the warm water from the saucer. He'd been watching this occurrence for who knew how many days; Rin chortled in his mind that he'd taken on the role his brother'd had before when it came to doctoring wounds. Mainly his reason for watching had been so the nurse didn't touch something that was only his to touch. Of course he needn't worry about any untoward actions occurring in the hospital, especially since those chosen to work at the hospital were exorcists and other people in the know.

Everyone knew he was the son of Satan, and thus, kept their distance.

"How much longer do you think he's going to be knocked out?" Rin asked once the bath was finished.

"I can't rightly say, but he's been in an induced coma for about a week now, so I would assume he'll be brought back shortly."

Okumura nodded and let out a breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding. The breath was both literal and metaphorical in that he could feel the weight on his chest start to lighten as well once he felt Onodera-san would be alright.

"What about his leg? Will it need to be removed?"

The idea frightened Rin more than he realized. Not because he was worried about any disfiguration, but because he didn't want Onodera to suffer any drawbacks of his doing.

"That's not something anyone will know until he wakes up and begins therapy. I can tell you, even though I am no doctor, it's not going to be easy on him. The damage is quite unsightly and will require quite a bit of time to heal."

The boy nodded again. He was at a standstill until the other woke up.

/GG/

Ritsu felt cold over every inch of his body. It wasn't like the feeling of cold when one goes outside in the winter and can see one's own breath. No, this was like every cell from the inside of his being was in a freezer. He was beyond chilled and wanted to curl up and let some sort of warmth overtake him.

For some reason he wasn't capable of seeing anything. Onodera knew he was alive, somehow. He was also very much aware of what had happened. Every second of his capture and the subsequent saving at the hands of a group of individuals who all but burned the culprits into char. The last thing he remembered seeing with his eyes was the blackening of flesh and the popping of skin as it melted from the internal body.

It was disgusting and he wanted to get rid of such memories and remember the good times.

Unfortunately when he tried to recall something good he ended up seeing himself with Saga-senpai. They were sitting in senpai's room, drinking oolong tea. It was a direct memory of when he and the other student had not only kissed, but went further. He hadn't thought of it in that moment, but later he'd found out that Saga had been with a girl before, which meant that his senpai had at least known what to do, whereas he had not.

Ritsu ended up watching the entire thing from his vantage point, from the first sloppy kiss where older boy had asked him to open his mouth to the climax that had left both of them drained. Onodera hadn't really been virile at that point, so they'd only had sex once. All in all it had only been three times with Saga-senpai. The man watched each of them in succession, followed by the last time when he'd asked what they were and been laughed at.

The pain of that memory was more depressing than having been kidnapped.

Then he jumped ahead a while to a time when An-chan had come to visit while he'd been abroad. During that time he'd reaffirmed that he wasn't interested in her in any way more than as a friend.

"_Fat lot of good that did," _he thought to himself from within the recesses of his mind. _"Neither she, nor my mother, seem to grasp the idea that I am really not interested in her. In truth, I don't think I was interested in anyone, male or female, until Rin showed up."_

Rin.

That boy had turned his world upside down and now he was lying somewhere with no feeling. His mind wasn't even working properly. Still, that kid had managed to make him happy for a time.

"Okumura-kun."

/GG/

"Okumura-kun."

Rin looked over at Onodera-san and almost shit his pants when he realized the man had mumbled his name in his sleep. Was he waking up?

"Onodera-san, can you hear me?" he asked without thinking about his surroundings. Okumura ran to the bed, which was only a foot away, and got into his lover's face. "Tell me you're awake and can hear me!"

The older man's breathing was still even, but there was a slight movement under his eyelids that caught Rin's attention. He was in REM sleep, which meant he was dreaming about him. This caused the boy to fall back a little and blush, after all, he himself had been having dreams of Onodera for quite some time. Some of them had even been wet dreams and he'd had to rush to the shower before Yukio woke up so he could clean his clothes and the more responsible of the two didn't have to ask where the spunk came from.

Honestly, did the younger twin ever have a wet dream or even masturbate? Rin had never seen or heard of his perfect baby brother doing such a vulgar thing, but he was half a man, so that must mean he had the same thoughts and desires as he himself had, right?

"Rin-kun…"

At the use of his given name, Okumura turned a deep shade of purple from embarrassment. They'd never talked about using given names, and he hadn't realized just how much the idea thrilled and scared him. If he called the older man Ritsu-san, what would that make them?

"Okumura Rin-kun?"

This time someone spoke from the door. Okumura looked over to see a man standing at the threshold; clipboard in hand.

"My name is Noda Chiharu, I'm the physical therapist."

Rin stood up and bowed. "Sensei, I think he's waking up."

Noda walked into the room and did a quick pulse check of the patient before nodding his head slightly. "It's not uncommon for someone in his present state to be speaking in their sleep. I wouldn't worry too much about him waking up on his own though, Okumura-kun."

In his mind he'd hoped that by him being there he'd done something to bring the man back, but with that little bit of knowledge he felt his heart sink. This wasn't going to be like those cute, girly manga where the lover is the reason for the coma patient to wake up. Real life definitely didn't mirror fantasy.

"I wanted to get your approval on some of the actions that will be taken when Onodera-san waked up. I also know his family has not been contacted as to his whereabouts and they are searching for him. It would help him greatly if you went to his family and explained the situation," Noda said smartly.

Okumura grimaced at the thought of seeing the other's parents. His mother didn't seem too happy the last time they'd met, so it probably wouldn't end well if he told them the whole truth.

"What am I supposed to do if they want to come and see him?" he asked as he did his best to keep from showing his discomfort.

"Give them this card and let them know that they can contact the hospital if they have any questions. You're merely a messenger at this point and I suggest not spending too much time in their company."

The boy nodded and looked at his watch. He'd not left the place in a while, so maybe it was time to stretch a little bit before Yukio came looking for him. With one last glance at the man lying in the bed, he used his key and walked into Tokyo like it was in the next room.

/GG/

Onodera could hear the voices of people talking in his head. No, it wasn't his head, they were talking outside of his head or they wouldn't have sounded so distorted. He tried to focus on one voice in particular to see if that helped him understand what was being said.

"…wake…no…this…"

Out of at least two dozen words he recognized three. So that didn't work. Rather than dwell on the fact he just let himself fade into the noise. It would come back in its own time.

Moments later he was startled to see, literally, that he had been right and that if he just let himself relax he would wake up fully. His eyes watered from the light that hit his optics and he felt himself vomit. Someone turned him to his side and he could feel fingers in his mouth, cleaning up the bile that had decided to make itself known on his taste buds. It pissed him off that he was so reliant on someone else in that moment.

When his eyes focused he saw that the person who had cleaned out his mouth was Okumura-kun and that made him feel even more disgusted in himself. He'd fucked that kid up royally and he'd fucked himself up in the process as well. The look in the kid's eyes made him realize that, as soon as he could, he needed to leave before he messed Okumura's life up too much.

For his part, Rin was so happy to see Onodera looking at him he didn't even see the fear the other had in his eyes. It wasn't like he would care much either way. Waking up was far more important than the look in a person's eyes after waking anyway.

/GG/

Life after being brought back from the dead was not exactly fun for the editor. He was required to go to physical therapy four times a day to help him learn to walk again after almost losing his leg. It didn't help that there was a teenage demon halfling following him around like a baby chick does to its mama. Ritsu was letting the kid get on his nerves because he wanted to make it easier when he finally asked to be transferred somewhere else, away from everyone. If Rin started to hate him it would make it that much easier.

Whenever he went to therapy Rin was there to see him off and was there to see him return. That was not a good thing, by any means. Onodera could see himself in the kid's manner; the himself being from when he was that age and addicted to Saga-senpai. Deep down it hurt to know he was going to run again, but he couldn't fathom staying.

Ritsu had even started hating himself by arguing, for no good reason, whenever the younger tried to speak to him. When Okumura mentioned leaving the compound he'd all but bit his head off, causing the younger to recoil as if having been slapped. Onodera could feel the jaded part of his personality that had almost taken a vacation start to emerge again, this time on a much grander scale. Eventually he had to close his heart off to the pain he saw in the other man's eyes or he'd change his mind.

He wouldn't let that happen.

Thus, after almost a week of therapy that enabled him to walk with a cane (as well as a week of listening to his mother complain about not being able to come see him, or at the very least send An-chan to help him heal) he decided to speak to Noda about the transfer. All the therapist could do was say no, which he hoped the man wouldn't.

"I want to be transferred to another hospital…somewhere," Ritsu said softly as said therapist worked on his leg.

"Really?"

"If I just leave here, disappear from the kid, then he can get back to what he's supposed to be doing and forget about me. I'm keeping him from reaching his full potential," he rationalized.

Noda looked at his patient and shook his head. "If you just up and leave, Okumura-kun will come looking for you. Is that really fair?"

"If I told him then he'd do what he could to keep me from leaving. It's better to let him hate me than deal with either of us being emotional." Even in his mind he felt like a coward while saying this to his therapist, but it was the truth, Rin-kun would definitely try and stop him.

"I'll see what I can do, but keep in mind, the son of Satan is not exactly someone who is going to be easy to hide from. We've already told you that his…stench…is attached to you, so this entire issue with the leg may become a reoccurring theme in your life."

Onodera knew that Noda-san was right, and the fact that he'd let the kid _mark_ him was bad enough, even if done unintentionally, but he didn't want to deal with it anymore. His life was too much. He'd tried, he'd failed, now it was time to move forward on a different path than what he'd thought. Leaving the kid was the right thing to do, to save his own sanity at least. How very selfish he was being.

"I don't want anyone knowing where I go though," he said softly as he hissed in pain at the pressure he felt in his leg as he moved it back and forth. "I just want to leave quietly and forget everything that's happened to me."

"You don't sound very convincing, Onodera-san," Noda stated, simply.

"I don't sound convincing to myself either, but after the past few months, I realize that I need time to think and I can't do that if Okumura-kun is hanging around. It's not fair to me, nor is it fair to him."

Noda nodded, "I can accept that answer. I won't tell anyone where we send you, but be aware, you'll be alone there. No one is going to come running to save you like last time."

Ritsu nodded. He was ready for whatever life brought at him.

/GG/

After his therapy, he walked back to his room, slowly. Rin-kun was sleeping on his bed, a book lying open on his chest, and drool spilling out the side of his mouth. He smiled, sadly. He'd not even wake the kid, he was just going to go through the door and be at the partner hospital. It didn't take long, not even five minutes, for his transfer to be permitted.

"Good-bye," he whispered, leaning in and placing a soft kiss to the other's forehead.

With those words, he left the room. Noda was waiting to take him from one place to the next. It was over.

When the door shut, Okumura woke up quickly. He thought he'd heard Onodera-san, but when he saw the room was empty he figured it had been a dream. Lately he'd been skipping school as well as exorcist training because he could see how scared the editor was. Nothing he'd done or said made the man feel any better and he knew the other was trying to push him away. Rin wasn't going to let that happen. He would be there, holding the guy's hand if necessary, just to prove he didn't have to go through it alone.

Rin looked at the clock and saw that the other would be returning from therapy any moment. So he sat and waited. The clock continued ticking, time slipping by. Eventually he realized something wasn't right and that Onodera wasn't coming back.


	10. Part: The Tenth

I have finally finished this story, after almost four freaking months. I've never taken that long to write something, so I have no idea what is going on. This is not the last chapter though, there are two more following this one.

I want to thank everyone who is reading this story. I love seeing the hits and knowing someone might be enjoying what I'm penning.

This is a Valentine's Day present for the lovely Risque Tendencies for being an awesome beta. Thank you for all your help.

/GG/

What About the Others

Part: The Tenth

_Two Months Later_

Rin sat in the chair at the front of the classroom, eyes trained on his brother, but not taking in any of what the younger son of Satan said. While his brother may have been the one in the front of the classroom, the only thing he saw was Onodera-san, as if the older man were standing right in front of him. His imagination had started playing tricks on his mind just a few days after his ex, if he could even call him that, had all but vanished. The first time he'd 'seen' Onodera-san had almost ended up with a complete stranger turning him in for sexual harassment. After that Rin had been so wary and on edge he literally saw 'him' everywhere he looked.

Even his dreams had been plagued to the point he'd taken to sleeping in a different room because he'd have wet dreams over and over again in the night. He didn't want Yukio to know that the man had been so engrained into his head that even after a break-up his body still reacted in a sexual way. The thing that pissed him off was that when Onodera had been around, he hadn't had a permanent hard-on, but for almost 60 days, his cock had been at attention like a fucking flagpole.

After a few more moments of _seeing_ Onodera-san standing in front of him and his body tingling like it anticipated feeling the elder's mouth all over his anatomy, Rin stood up and screamed.

"Why?" Tears shown in the corner of his eyes. "What kind of magic can I use to make my body mine again?"

Okumura crashed to his desk, a sniveling pile of goop, not realizing that everyone in the room was staring at him like he'd been possessed by a different kind of demon. In truth, he had been taken over, and the demon was called infatuation…love.

"Nii-san?"

Rin looked up and saw his brother looking at him with a sad expression on his face. After the editor had left, Okumura hadn't really talked to anyone about how he was feeling and it was obvious it was starting to eat at the elder of halflings. He knew his family, his friends, were worrying about his change over in personality, but in truth the blue-eyed boy hadn't wanted to burden anyone with thoughts they themselves probably hadn't ever entertained.

"I need a break," he announced.

Without so much as a glance back, Rin walked out the door to the classroom and took off at a fast paced jog. In movies he'd see a character run to help relieve the stress of a bad situation. This was definitely one of those situations.

/GG/

A scream reverberated in his head, which caused Ritsu to sit up in his bed in a cold sweat. He shivered, involuntarily, and placed his head in his hands. For a few weeks he'd been plagued by dreams, for even longer still he'd seen a person popping up in his vision. Lately the vision of the man in the purple hat had been happening more frequently. He didn't like it.

Not even Okumura-kun or Saga-senpai had been in his _dreams_ as much as this unknown man had. Frankly, it freaked him out because it was almost as if the man was mocking him. Onodera had been mocked more than enough in his life, he didn't need fantasies to do that too.

Of course, during the day, at least five times, his mind landed on a certain young half-demon. His thoughts taking advantage of him kept Onodera from being completely sane. First it had been Saga-senpai, when thoughts of the man had all but overtaken his psyche. Now it was a kid, someone he never should have hooked up with, that wouldn't leave his mind.

Rin had probably been able pick up the pieces of his life and move on; he was a teenager after all. There was more than likely a plethora of girls and boys who would have been all but giddy at snagging him. Jealousy would pound in his head when he thought of Okumura-kun with someone else. At one point Ritsu had even snapped at air when the thought of the younger man having sex with another popped into his head.

"I can't dwell on what can't be," he'd reasoned with himself in that situation.

The same type of pain he'd felt when he'd left Saga-senpai had all but oozed into his heart and overtaken each and every cell in his body, but Onodera pushed through the pain and continued on as if nothing was different. It hadn't been easy to set himself up with a new job and a life that wasn't his. Yes, he'd been allowed to keep his name, and had been in contact with his family, but instead of editing literature, he'd been forced to edit manga for a company in Sapporo. Living in that area wasn't necessarily bad since it had kept him away from his mother for a time, but it had meant he was completely alone, and still able to see that demons ran rampant while no one was any the wiser.

Onodera pushed himself from his bed and got ready to head to work. Just like any other day, he was going to edit manga and then sleep. There was no excitement and he couldn't even say he was content. Instead he was just going about the motions like a marionette on strings and someone else was the puppet-master.

/GG/

"You really need to stop skipping classes and learn something," Mephisto said as he hit Rin over the head with his hand.

The younger man winced at the impact and glared. "What was that for?" he asked as he rubbed his smarting scalp.

"I am trying to knock some sense into you. Far be it for me to not care about my younger brother when he's lost."

Rin rolled his eyes. "I don't believe a word of what you're saying. You know as well as I do that if I don't become an exorcist you are allowed to kill me. Isn't this what _**they**_ want?"

Mephisto sighed and smacked Rin upside the head again. "As much as I would love to play around with you like old times, even I know when it isn't the right time for fun. You are worrying people, your powers are becoming erratic, which is putting other people in danger, and this is drawing all sorts of riffraff from god knows where to our gates. While I don't have a problem with the occasional demon attack, even I can't defend against dozens of demons showing up here." The answer was completely serious and caused Okumura to cringe. "And," Mephisto added, dangerously, "You are making me look bad in the eyes of countless people who trust me."

"Then why don't I just admit defeat and let you kill me?" _'That would make my life a little less complicated,'_ Rin thought.

Not a sound was heard after that question and for a moment the boy wondered if his guardian had fallen asleep during the conversation. Then laughter shook the room like an earthquake. Rin's eyes shot open wide as he fell back slightly from the other demon; a look of confusion laced his face.

After a few moments of uninterrupted laughter, Mephisto spoke again. "This is rich, Rin-chan. I cannot believe that the son of Satan is willing to end his life just because he's been jilted in love. We're demons; you should thank whatever god you want to that you were able to experience such pleasure."

Those words were definitely like a slap in the face to the student, who hadn't once thought that maybe the reason Onodera had left was because of some curse. Once Mephisto spelled it out for him, the idea became malignant and spread like a cancer to his head. Within moments Rin could feel himself start to get angry, sad, and depressed at the same time. This ended up with him setting fire to the room and torching everything to a cinder in mere moments.

Then Mephisto did something completely unexpected. He hugged the boy for a brief moment. They stood in the burnt out husk of a room while the older male spoke.

"Don't for one moment think it's okay that you have destroyed my office, but I will let you take your anger out on this room if you can get your act together, or I may very well have to send you to the Vatican to be kept under lock and key until you can grow up. Watching the two of you is like watching two children."

Rin watched as Mephisto scowled at his blackened office and walked out the door. Anger seeped into his mind as he stared off after the enigma that was his older brother. If the other demon wasn't the most cryptic bastard in the world, no one was.

/GG/

Moments upon returning home, Ritsu ended up passing out on his sofa. Tired didn't even begin to describe how he felt after the long day at work. Two of his mangaka had asked for extra extensions, his boss had fallen down the stairs when a demon had pushed through, and broke his leg, and his mother had called and nagged him about An-chan for the billionth time. All in all, it had been a rather shitty day.

Thus the reason for him entering into a sleep coma the second he'd hit the couch. What was nice about the situation was there were no dreams, no charismatic men with pointed ears in his dreams, and no thoughts of Okumura-kun. Okay, maybe just a little thought on the latter, but nothing else.

Until he heard a crash, followed by some profanity, which caused him to bolt upright in terror.

What he saw made him quake with fear as the demon who had been haunting his dreams, both awake and asleep, stood before him with a snarky grin.

"W-who are you?" Ritsu finally asked when he found his voice.

"I am Mephisto Pheles," the being said with a bow. "I've heard a lot about you Onodera Ritsu-kun, though I must say, you are rather plain. Not quite sure what he sees in you."

Onodera sat back on the sofa as the man before him studied him from too close a proximity. He could feel the other's breath on his face as he was handled like some sort of prize bull on show for purchase. The way it felt made his skin crawl.

"Get your hands off me, no one is allowed to touch me," he snapped as he pushed the offending limb away from his face.

Mephisto giggled, "Feisty, aren't we. I guess I can see why Okumura-kun is drawn to you."

At the mere mention of the name Ritsu could feel his heart quicken and a slight blush creep onto his face. Moving was supposed to keep him from having to deal with the brat again, yet somehow this clown from his daymares and nightmares had brought the kid back into his mind.

"Struck a nerve, didn't I?" the man laughed.

"I've given up that part of my life and moved on, so why are you here dredging up old news?"

"Tch, tch, tch, this won't do," Mephisto said as he collapsed onto the sofa with Onodera, causing the latter to scoot closer to the edge of the furniture.

"What are you on about?" The way the man was speaking confused Onodera more than helped him understand the intrusion into his home.

"I mean, you are obviously still thinking about him as much as he thinks about you, so I am not sure how to sever your ties," the demon stated.

Hearing that Okumura hadn't moved on actually made Ritsu feel an emotion he hadn't felt since he'd been confessed to by Saga-senpai. He pushed it aside, though, and scowled.

"I've already severed those ties, so you can leave and not barge into other people's houses again."

Again the demon laughed. "You are funny, amusing like my little brother Okumura-kun. The elder, I mean. His twin isn't exactly as amusing; probably because of how worldly he is compared to his older brother."

Talk of brothers and whatnot just confused Ritsu and he shook his head in annoyance.

"Look, I told you that I cut ties already, so please, don't bother me again. I don't want to deal with him, or you, or anyone in your world anymore." It wasn't quite a plead, but it certainly felt like one. For some reason, he knew that if the other man didn't leave his life wouldn't be as simple as it had become once leaving behind the world of demons and sons of Satan.

"You haven't really aged much since _that _incident, have you Onodera Ritsu?" Mephisto chuckled with a shady grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Ritsu snarled, baring his teeth like a caged animal. He'd had a dream about the clown standing in his way and it scared the crap out of him. This man, thing, had somehow managed to sneak into his subconscious and give him nightmares since before he'd been kidnapped.

"_That_ incident being when you were sexually active with your beloved Saga-senpai." The answer was deadpan.

Onodera blushed from head to toe at the bluntness this man was using with regards to his past.

"What of it?"

"You ran away then too. Kind of a coward, aren't you?" Mephisto grinned again with a slight shake of his head.

Hearing it from someone else was quite the change of pace. Ritsu didn't like to think about how he had run away back then. He didn't really like to think about his running away a few weeks ago either. Onodera was someone who took flight instead of fight, he wasn't someone who had much training with fighting anyway and he'd have ended up getting killed.

"I'm not a coward just because I ran away," he tried to say with conviction. "That was me saving my life."

"I'm not talking about your running from danger; any smart man would do that." Mephisto was enjoying toying with this man's head. The squirming was fun to watch. "I am talking about running from love."

Ritsu looked down at his hands for a moment before glaring at the demon who had decided it was a good idea to interrupt his sleep in person, finally.

"Maybe love is your cowardice. You are afraid of love, so you leave your partner hanging. You did it with Masamune. You did it with An." He walked forward and whispered into the human's ear, eliciting a shiver from the other's spine. "And now you've done that to my little brother."

"Fuck you!" Ritsu screamed. "Get out of here before I call the cops."

Mephisto threw back his head and laughed. "And what would you say to them? You really are a poor excuse for a man. Do you not have any intelligence at all in your head?"

Onodera glared, but didn't answer. He knew the demon was using him for a laugh.

"You're the exact opposite of that poor excuse for a demon who's fallen in love with you. You run away from things while that idiot runs into them without thinking." Mephisto smirked evilly. "I knew that with humans they say that opposites attract, but who knew it was actually true."

"And what do you know of humans if you aren't even one?" Ritsu was tired of this conversation and wanted Mephisto to swan off.

"I live with humans, I educate humans, and my cousin is the head of a publishing company," the demon said as he jumped onto the bed and crouched down at eye level with Onodera. "The same one, in fact, where your ex-lover, Saga-senpai, currently works."

Ritsu felt his blood boil and his face flush. This creature knew way too much about him and he doubted Okumura-kun would have spilled the beans. So where had all the details from his past come from? How did Mephisto get hold of them?

"I can tell by your blush that while you may be angry at the man, you still have some unresolved feelings for him. If you plan on making a clean break from Okumura-kun and our world, I could easily get you an interview with Marukawa. Maybe it could help rekindle those lost feelings?" he grinned, showing off his pointed teeth.

The very idea of being put into a position where he had to work with Saga-senpai almost made him want to reach out and wring the other man's neck. Ritsu wouldn't deny it though; the opportunity to see the man reminded him of how much he loved and adored the other. It was a well known fact that one never forgot their first love, even if that love ended in tragedy.

"I can also tell by your inability to comment immediately that the idea actually isn't bringing about negative thoughts," Mephisto deadpanned. He became very serious. "I don't want someone who cannot make up their own mind clouding the mind of the son of Satan, and that's exactly what's happening right now."

Onodera looked at the demon with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

The demon glowered. "I mean that Okumura-kun hasn't been able to concentrate, he hasn't gone to his lessons regularly, and he's neglected his duties." He stared Ritsu down. "All. Because. Of. You," he sing-songed as he placed a finger on the tip of Onodera's nose.

Ritsu pushed back slightly under the other man's touch as his eyes went wide. After telling himself he wouldn't do exactly what Saga-senpai had done, he'd indeed gone and made the younger man feel just as he had while still in high school.

/GG/

On the other side of the door Mephisto had used to travel to Sapporo, stood the very being Onodera and Mephisto had been talking about. Okumura still hadn't left the headmaster's office, nor did he want to. For some reason being around the destruction he'd caused calmed Rin's head enough for him to think.

Mephisto had told him to fight for what he wanted. It was exactly the same thing his father had said on countless occasions. Even Yukio had made similar comments before. Normally Rin would either fight until it wasn't possible to get what he wanted, or he'd bow out gracefully. Neither were an option at that point though.

He looked at the devastation of the office and realized that if he were ever going to see Onodera-san again, he'd need to start acting like a human and not a demon. That wasn't something he figured he knew how to do, but he did know that if he had the other man at his side, he had a much better chance of retaining his humanity than if Onodera didn't stay.

/GG/

The confession caused Ritsu to all but die on the inside. A tear streamed down his face as he was thrown back into his former self, so vibrant and full of love, which was tossed aside like a piece of rubbish. Hearing what Mephisto had said had reduced the man to a child and reminded him of his own sadness at losing something he'd held dear.

If Okumura-kun was indeed not bouncing back, then maybe it was true that fate had drawn them together. Onodera wouldn't call what he felt love, but he would say it was definitely not something he could ignore. He'd been in love once, which had ended up with him in pain. He wasn't about to let someone else go through what he himself had gone through. Especially when the one who had caused the pain didn't want to be away from the son of Satan anyway.

"I'll come back," he whispered, "but it has to be on my terms. No magic, I will take the train and get there like a human. I can't be a demon like you."

What surprised Ritsu more than Mephisto's agreement was the fact that when he'd made up his mind to stop running and face his own inner demons, it made him feel as if he were about ready to go back home. He didn't know when Okumura-kun had become his home, but there was no other word to describe the feeling. Wherever the halfling was, that was Onodera's home.


	11. Part: The Eleventh

Hello all, and welcome to another (long) chapter of Others. I am glad to see so many people sticking around and I can say, with certainty, this story is almost done. One more chapter after this one.

Thanks to Risque Tendencies for correcting this chapter to make it sound more eloquent. I appreciate it, you have no idea!

/GG/

What About the Others

Part: The Eleventh

Onodera looked at his apartment one last time. Leaving after such a short time seemed rather ridiculous, but he knew if he didn't leave, he'd just end up losing his cool. Sapporo was quite the stone's throw from where he was going. He'd have to sleep on the train and arrive in Tokyo in the morning. Then he'd have to hop another train in order to get to the address Mephisto had left. Ritsu had never heard of such a place.

Surprisingly, he'd been able to retain his job. The editor in chief had agreed that he could continue working from his new location as long as he remained up to date with edits and had constant contact with his mangaka. Onodera agreed to the terms, only to find out that the head of this company was also related to Mephisto.

"Don't look so shocked," Odagiri Hajime, the head of the office had said with a grin. "Too many people in this world are related to Satan. Even you, probably. Isaka's mother and my mother are first cousins. I didn't grow up with the man, but we are civil to one another."

Ritsu didn't want to know any more than what he'd been told already. The fact that everyone was connected like some intricate spider's web was freaking him out.

"I appreciate being given this chance, sir. I won't let you down," he promised with a bow.

"See that you don't. I know where to find you if you fuck up," Odagiri said slyly, with a wink.

Onodera left after that, packed, and hopped the train. He let himself sleep, which was something he needed. This time the sleep was uninterrupted. In fact, he didn't dream at all.

/GG/

After setting fire to Mephisto's office, Rin stayed there until someone came and kicked him out to fix the place up per the older man's request. Once he was kicked out of the office he'd trudged back to his room and let himself pass out. That lasted for a total of five minutes before Ukobach and Kuro stole into the room and demanded attention.

"Rin!" Kuro cooed in his ear, waking the young man from a placid dream, "Make me food!"

"Ugh!" Rin moaned. "Leave me alone!" He yawned and tried to go back to sleep. Ukobach jumped onto his chest and used a ladle to whack him upside the head. "Hey!" Rin snapped, sitting up and knocking the two demons off his person. "What gives?"

"Rin, I want food!" Kuro whined.

"Have him make you something then," Rin murmured, pointing at the dorm's chef.

"I want you to make it for me."

Okumura knew he wasn't going to get any more sleep if the annoying cat-demon was this hungry. Normally said demon was more than happy to get food from anyone, but today seemed to be a special day.

"Fine," Rin mumbled as he stood up and walked to the kitchen. Kuro and Ukobach followed closely behind.

The trio of demons were rather an interesting sight as they marched down the hallway. Yukio watched them from his room, but didn't say anything. If anyone was able to get his older brother to do something that was a good thing in his mind. While he didn't have a whole lot of experience with the subject of a broken heart-save for coming to terms with the thought he might need to kill his own brother-he did know that time was the best medicine to help the elder get over his issues.

Said group of demons finally made it to the kitchen and the two smaller jumped onto the counter and stared Rin down.

"What?" he snapped, unintentionally. "Sorry, what do you want to eat, Kuro?"

For a moment the demon cat thought and then grinned. "I want pizza, hot pot, Jello, a cheese platter, and sake!"

At that list Rin completely woke up and glared. "Excuse me? Why do you want all of that…and where am I going to get you sake?"

"I know you can do it, Rin!" Kuro purred. "You're the best!" Ukobach grunted in agreement.

"Fine, I've got nothing better to do right now."

Okumura turned and opened the refrigerator to search for ingredients while Ukobach started to pile up the tools necessary for cooking. Once the two cooks were busy, Kuro made a speedy getaway.

"This is just what I needed today," Rin growled as he started on the dough for the pizza. He looked at Ukobach, who was in the process of chopping vegetables for hot pot. "Did you have any part in this plan or was it just Kuro?"

Ukobach grunted and continued to work on the vegetables. Rin rolled his eyes and started to cut meat for the pizza and the hot pot. They continued on in silence for almost an hour before movement was heard out the door.

Rin looked at the entryway into the cafeteria and narrowed his eyes. The little, purple-eared demon watched the son of Satan walk toward the doorway and jump into the hallway. Moments later he, along with Suguro, Shima, and Shiemi ended up falling into the room in an unceremonious pile.

"Geeze, Moriyama, can't you walk?" Suguro groaned as he pushed Shima off him, and himself off of a flattened Okumura.

"S-s-sorry, I was startled when he jumped from the door," Shiemi insisted. "I didn't mean to knock everyone down."

Shima smiled and winked at Okumura. "You can stand behind me any time you want," he grinned, earning him a smack over the head by Suguro, who pulled the perverted student away from the girl.

"I swear, Shima, you need to look for something else to keep you entertained," the priest in training snapped.

"Wh…"

Suguro stopped Shiemi from speaking. "Next time, I suggest you wear a more loose fitting outfit, and not stand behind him."

Moriyama and Rin looked at one another, both completely confused.

"Neither of you understood?" Suguro asked, annoyed.

"Well…no," Rin admitted.

Suguro shook his head in defeat. "Look a little lower than her face, Okumura, and then see if you can figure it out."

Rin looked down and noticed that Shiemi was wearing a tight fitting shirt and her ample chest was almost causing the fabric to rip. Instantly both he and the girl understood, and blushed.

"You used to stare at those quite a bit, Okumura," Shima laughed. "That man must have really changed your preferences."

"That's not true!" Rin shouted, scandalize. Then he mumbled under his breath, "if it's not _him_ then it's no other guy…ever."

Suguro grunted and clapped the boy on the back. He knew fully well that the son of Satan was one of the least experienced people in the room; Moriyama was probably on track with him in that department too. Rin was a new type of person, probably more asexual than anything else, where he could see someone and get that feeling of lust, but when it came to an actual partner it was one person and no one else would do. Now, granted, the soon to be priest wasn't someone who had run around the block, but he did listen, watch, and learn. Most people still lived in that whole 'spread the seed to as many as possible' phase. Rin, along with a few others in the world seemed to be innately born with only ever being able to 'be' with one other person. That person happened to be this editor who had run off like a coward.

"What are you thinking about?" Shima whispered into Suguro's ear, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Nothing of interest, really." He then looked around at the cafeteria. "When do we eat? I didn't come here for my health, you know."

It was then that Okumura realized why he'd been asked to make so much food. That damn demon cat had tricked him into making all that crap for his friends. He rolled his eyes and glared at both tiny demons who were in the kitchen, giving him bank looks that clearly stated, '_We didn't do anything_.'

Nothing could be done about that after the other three had shown up, followed closely behind by his little brother. Plus, it was the first time in months that his head was not on Onodera-san, which meant he was going to climb out of the dark abyss at some point.

Of course he didn't realize that across campus, the man of his thoughts had exited a bus and was trying to figure out where in the fuck he was.

/GG/

Onodera looked at his surroundings and tried to figure out what was going on. This wasn't just a school, it was a whole metropolis disguised as who the hell knew what. For a moment he actually wanted to jump back on the bus and return to the train station. His job in Sapporo was still on the books, so it wasn't as if he didn't have a place to return to.

The problem was that as soon as he stepped in the direction of the gargantuan city, he couldn't turn back. It was almost like he was being pulled by some unknown force. If he'd paid attention to some of the stories he'd, been in charge of Ritsu'd have sworn that the reason he wasn't able to leave was because of that whole 'red thread of destiny' thing. Onodera was too intelligent to believe in such a crazy notion…but that seemed to be the only explanation as to why he wasn't able to move away from where he knew the kid was.

His mind was not happy. He hated that he'd started to revert back to the way he was with Saga-senpai. When he'd been with the slightly older boy, all Ritsu could think of was being with him. He loved when they were together. It didn't matter if they were just standing next to one another or if the elder had had him in a heated embrace, bodies sticky with sweat and cum…connected down below like they had been molded for one another. Ritsu had needed that feeling.

Now, he knew that it wasn't necessary to have that feeling to live anymore, but he felt the same sort of happiness when he was with the kid. It was slightly different, and that was most likely due to the fact that he was an adult rather than a child. But it wouldn't matter anymore, for once he stepped closer to the building the editor could feel a weight that had been pushing on his chest start to release. It was almost as if it was necessary if he wanted to continue on.

But…it still pissed him off and scared the crap out of him that those feeling long ago repressed were now attacking his senses like a cancer.

"Why?" he asked himself. "Haven't I been punished enough?"

A laugh startled him as he glanced at nothing in particular, since no one was there anyway.

"Is that what you call those feelings in your head, editor-san?"

Mephisto popped out of midair and grinned like an imp.

Ritsu glowered for a moment before shaking his head. Arguing with the demon was akin to arguing with a brick wall. Nothing was going to come of it. Plus, calling this feeling a punishment was something only the uke in a boy's love manga would say. Ritsu was hardly an uke, if anything, being with Rin had made him a seke, or a normal person.

"I am tickled pink to see you found the place," Mephisto said with a little twinkle in his voice.

"Kind of hard to miss this place," Ritsu grumbled.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I can see you are still uncertain of your feelings. Am I to assume your lovely senpai jaded you so much you can't even make up your own mind anymore?"

If he'd had anything in his hands that he could hurl at the nuisance of a man in front of him, Ritsu'd have hurled it with all the force he could muster.

"That answers that question," the demon commented, landing on his feet and picking up one of Onodera's suitcases. "Far be it for me to meddle in a person's love life…"

"Which you already have," Ritsu pointed out.

"I don't mean your current love life; I mean your past love life."

"What are you getting at?" Ritsu narrowed his eyes in both confusion and intrigue.

"Maybe it's time to meet up with your beloved senpai and say goodbye."

Ritsu scoffed. "And how do you suggest I do that? Walk up to the man and tell him it's over?"

Mephisto thought for a moment before shaking his head. "If I send you to him then I can almost guarantee your current life will be changed. As much as I respect the man who was your first lover, I don't want him stealing you from my little brother and that's what'll happen if you meet up with him. No, I think it would be best for you to go into your own mind and say goodbye to your younger self. Let him know it's okay to grow up."

Well that sounded like a crock. The psychobabble Mephisto was spewing made very little sense to him, but Ritsu decided to play along and see if he could make sense of what was the other was talking about.

That was until the creepy thing brought him to a room where he was told he was about to be hypnotized.

"You're kidding, right!" Ritsu spat. "How do I know you're not going to fuck with my mind in some way?"

Mephisto cocked his head to the side with a slight smirk. "I am going to fuck with your mind, as you so eloquently put it. This is the only way, aside from the risk of losing you to your ex that you can get over your past. If you don't want to see Rin, if you would really rather go through life without growing some balls, then I will happily send you on your way. My brother is strong and will get over you eventually as long as his friends are around, but you are so screwed up in the head, I don't know if there's a way to fix you without bringing your former self up for a chat."

Onodera didn't like this. He was at the mercy of a maniac who wanted to play around with his head. His past had made him what he was and to mess with it might make him change his mind about seeing Rin-kun

Rin-kun. Okumura Rin.

A smile started to form on the editor's face as he saw the demon teen come to the forefront of his mind. While it wasn't necessarily a complete fix, the fact that the blue-eyed youth had appeared in his head made him realize that he didn't want to lose part of his past since it was exactly the past that had brought the two together.

"I refuse," he said with conviction.

It was then that the room all but changed around him. Where before it had been a cold room out of a horror movie where the aliens are experimented on, the room now looked like an office; warm and inviting.

Ritsu was at a loss for words. Within moments he was seated in a big armchair. He felt immediately comfortable and the feeling he'd felt at the thought of losing his memories was replaced with acceptance and serenity. He was so confused, it almost made him wonder what was and wasn't real anymore.

Mephisto clapped and sat down behind his desk. That ordeal was done and he'd never have to try to talk some sense into the human again.

"You did that on purpose." It wasn't a question, definitely a statement.

"Anyone who has their memories erased or changed doesn't deserve happiness. A person, demon or not, needs to be able to live with their past," Mephisto said, nonchalantly. "Besides, if you had accepted then I would have had Rin's memory erased from your memory and sent you back to Sapporo."

That aside, he hadn't been brought there for small talk. "When can I see Rin-kun?"

"All in good time, he's a little busy at the moment."

/GG/

That was an understatement on Mephisto's part. Rin was in the process of arm wrestling Suguro, and losing, much to his chagrin.

"Come on Rin, you can do it!" Shiemi called, clearly excited at the match.

Okumura clamped his teeth together and used all the strength he had, but ended up failing miserably.

"I just handed you your very own ass," Suguro smiled, smugly.

"Not a very good winner, are you?" Rin retorted, rubbing his smarting hand that had been smashed to the table moments before.

"Hey, I take 'em where I can get 'em. You're stronger than me in almost everything else. At least I can beat you at arm wrestling."

"Be nice," Moriyama warned.

Shima came up beside her and placed an arm around her shoulder. "It okay, Moriyama-chan," he purred in her ear. "Okumura is more than capable of handling a defeat, even if it's over something as simple as an arm wrestling match."

Rin scowled. "I am not in top form right now," he challenged. "Give me a couple of months and I'll hand you back your own ass!"

"Deal!"

Two hands were shaken, indicating a rematch when Rin felt he was up to it. Though he knew that there was no way he'd ever win unless he went all demonic on himself. Suguro was much stronger than he was in normal form. He just used it as an excuse to make it look like an outside force was affecting his strength.

"Nii-san, I think it's time to call it a night," Yukio said calmly. "You all have class tomorrow as well as extra lessons in exorcism, so I suggest we all get some sleep."

"Yes, mother," Shima grumbled, holding onto Moriyama's hand. "Come on, let's go before he makes us clean up."

"Oh, okay," Shiemi said with a nod, not caring in the least that they were holding hands like a courting couple.

"Let her go, you pervert, she can walk on her own you know," Suguro growled, cutting between his friend and the girl.

The air became thick for a moment as Suguro and Shima squared off. Finally the pink-haired boy shook his head and grinned. "I was so close, you're cock-blocking me for some reason, maybe it's because…"

Suguro clamped his hand on Shima's mouth. "And with that we'll be off." The tall boy took hold of both Shima's and Moriyama's hands before dragging the two out the door without so much as a by your leave. Yukio and Rin watched in mild confusion, after all they'd both had rather sheltered lives.

"You need sleep too, Rin-san," Yukio said as he stretched and headed for the door.

"Sure," Rin stated, a smile on his face still. "After I get the kitchen clean I'll head to bed."

With that, the party to cheer up the dejected demon came to a close and the only three left in the kitchen were two micro-demons and the one for whom the party was. Okumura smiled when he realized that he'd been able to go almost an hour without thinking of Onodera-san. That was the first time since he'd met the guy that he'd had a free thought for a short length of time.

The smile evaporated and was replaced by a slight frown. He couldn't do anything about it anymore since he'd likely never see the other again. Time would heal him though and if he were able to go an hour and five minutes next time then he would be making progress. Eventually he'd get to the point where Onodera Ritsu was nothing but a ghost in his mind.

Rin started to put the dishes into the sink and turned around to clean off the counter.

"Great," he muttered to himself. "Now I'm seeing Onodera-san when there's nothing there." He grabbed a few more dishes and put them in the sink. When he turned around he saw that his mirage was still there. Only this time he had a look of confusion on his face rather than no expression. "And it's still there."

"Okumura-kun?" Ritsu was rather confused. It was almost like the kid wasn't really seeing him.

"And now it's talking to me, too." Rin was a little confused as to why his mirage was talking to him.

Well, that was more of a surprise than anything he would have expected. The poor kid was so gone he wasn't even seeing him.

"I'm talking because I'm real, Okumura-kun," Ritsu said, a little harsher than he'd intended.

"No, Onodera-san left without saying goodbye. He's not going to come back, so I've got to find something else to keep my mind occupied."

'_Is this for real?'_ Ritsu didn't know how to react. He'd never have thought that his disappearance would have caused such a reaction out of anyone.

"I'd have liked to say goodbye to him though, or tried to get him to stay. I loved him, after all," Rin said sadly to his mirage while he started to scrub the dishes.

_Loved? _Ritsu felt his heart jolt at that comment. He still wasn't sure if this was love, but it was pretty damn close. In his head he wondered if he should tell the boy that, but he couldn't get himself to speak such words. Ritsu may not even have been able to act on those words had he not already felt the urge to take the kid into his arms and kiss him.

He didn't though because physical affection doesn't fix everything.

"Okumura-kun," he said, slamming his hands on the countertop, causing the boy to drop his current dish in the sink, effectively splashing him with dirty, soapy water. "I am here, Okumura." Ritsu stared a hole into the back of Rin's head until the kid turned around and stared.

He'd just spent sixty days trying to _not_ see the man everywhere he went. It wasn't fair.

"Where in the hell did you go?" he asked softly.

Ritsu lowered his head and took a deep breath. He owed the kid that much, at least. An explanation. He just didn't know how to go about explaining himself.

"Because I was scared," he finally stated. "When I get scared, I try to leave."

Rin belched a laugh. "So you're a coward. I fell in love with a coward?"

The comment stung, like a giant slap in the face. The fact that it was true didn't bode well with Ritsu and he made a vow not to act like a coward anymore.

"Why are you back?" Rin continued when the elder didn't comment.

Onodera felt like he was on the stand in front of a ruthless lawyer. The kid was being harsh, but he knew, deep down, that he deserved everything that he was dealt.

"I-I," he looked up and locked eyes with Rin, showing that he was telling the truth, "want…you."

Saying it out loud shocked both men. Ritsu couldn't believe he'd been able to admit such a thing while Rin could feel his body start to heat up and a blush stain his cheeks. Onodera had an identical blush on his face.

"What makes you think I want you anymore?"

Okumura didn't even think before spitting that question out. Obviously it was a good question, even though he was doing whatever he could to keep himself rooted in the kitchen with the counter between them. If they had been without a barrier he'd have claimed the man and taken him. As it was, he hadn't even masturbated since the last time they'd had sex, so he was due for an eruption.

Ritsu answered the only way he knew how. "I don't," he replied, "but I didn't want to make the same mistake with you that I made…" He didn't want to think about senpai; this was about him and Okumura-kun.

The demon accepted that answer since he knew enough about Onodera's past to know making that comment had to have been difficult for him. While it would take a while for him to trust the man again, he did know that he wanted the man as much as the man wanted him.

Rin jumped over the counter and closed the distance between the two, forcing their lips together in a messy, wet kiss. Tongues immediately started dancing as arms wrapped around backs and legs started to tangle themselves. They both knew that they belonged with one another.

Eventually they pulled apart, not that they wanted to, in order to breathe. Okumura pulled the other into a hug and didn't intend on letting him go.

"I'm putting a GPS inside of you somewhere," he threatened.

Ritsu smiled into the other's shoulder. It was a funny comment, after all.

Rin pushed Ritsu slightly up and claimed his mouth again. Eventually he maneuvered them both to the ground where they continued feeling each other out again. Okumura could feel himself getting hard and knew that he'd bust without much more help. He reached down and started to unbutton his pants when Ritsu stopped him.

The elder shook his head and pulled away enough that he was able to see all of the kid sitting in front of him.

"Wait," Okumura asked, confused. "Aren't we going to have make-up sex?"

Ritsu glared at the boy standing in front of him, looking rather dejected and very much appealing. He just couldn't do it though; not that he didn't want to, he was a man after all.

"No, Okumura-kun," he replied with a blush. "Sex doesn't solve everything."

The son of Satan sweat-dropped. He was more than ready and willing. Wait…maybe Onodera had…?

"Did you, with someone else…during…" he asked, clearly worried.

Onodera looked scandalized for a moment before answering. "No, I didn't even…"

Rin understood that they'd both not even taken care of themselves while they were away.

"Then why, unless you don't want to?"

Ritsu didn't want to fuck everything up by thinking that sex was going to solve the problem.

"I think we should talk. Sex can come later." Though in truth, he was rather uncomfortable.

Okumura nodded. He actually understood where the elder was coming from. The problem was that he wasn't going to be much of a talker in his current condition. He'd need to head off to the bathroom and get it out of his system. While he'd rather have made love with the man, he was willing to take things slowly.

"Will you help me with the dishes?"

Ritsu nodded, stood up, and reached out a hand for the younger. He headed for the kitchen when he noticed the student head toward a different door.

"Where are you going?" he asked, confused.

Okumura grimaced slightly and blushed fiercely. "I'm kind of…so I need to…bathroom."

Onodera looked confused until he glanced down and saw that Rin was actually looking a little tight in the britches. His eyes went wide as he started to understand why Rin had wanted to have sex. He'd been the same way at times when he was a child. It wasn't something that was easily fixed.

"No intercourse, but I can…help…you," he said, shyly, "if you want."

Rin smiled at the thought of the elder doing something that led to his release.

"Like what?" he asked slyly. Okumura knew that Ritsu got a little embarrassed when it came to intimacy.

Ritsu kind of shied away a little as he thought about what he could do. He came up with two, non-anal intercourse; a hand job or a blow job.

"Um…you can choose." Ritsu flushed in mortification at the offer.

Okumura thought for a fraction of a second. As much as he'd love to feel the elder's mouth on his cock, he really wanted the intimacy, so maybe Ritsu could use his hand and they could hold on to one another and kiss.

He walked over to his lover and pulled him toward the door to the hallway. He wanted to be in the bedroom when they came together again after so long.

"I'll tell you when we get there," he said with a wink.

Ritsu felt like a shy little girl being taken away to have her cherry popped. He didn't care though, as long as he was with the younger man; that was all that mattered anymore.


	12. Part: The End

And now the conclusion.

/GG/

What About the Others

Part: The End

After a spell in Rin's bedroom where Onodera jerked him off while they battled tongues, he'd insisted on returning the favor. Both almost passed out from holding it in for so long, but in the end they sat together, breathing deeply before heading off to the kitchen to finish the dishes almost forgotten. Rin would wash the dish and Ritsu would dry the dish, followed by Ukobach putting them away.

"What were you like as a child, Okumura-kun?" Ritsu asked as he put a cup on the counter for the pint-sized demon.

"People called me a demon. They had no idea how right they were."

Ritsu took the plate Rin had finished washing and started drying. "But you aren't a demon, like they said I mean. If you had been, then you'd have left me to get eaten."

"That's true, I probably would have, but I did have a temper when I was younger." He handed another plate to Onodera-san.

"And that's changed?"

Okumura took a deep breath before answering. "I guess that depends on the situation. If someone I care about is in trouble, then I tend to kick back to those violent ways."

"Would you change it?" This was similar to what Mephisto had offered earlier that day. Would anyone take or get rid of the past?

Rin thought about that for a moment while he scrubbed a pan with a brillo pad. Changing the past would affect the present and he didn't want his present to change if it meant that now Onodera-san was going to remain with him.

"No," he finally said after a pregnant pause. "Then I might not have met you," Rin deadpanned, catching Ritsu's gaze.

Onodera nodded and took the pan from his hand to dry it. "Would you change your past?" Rin asked, "with your senpai, I mean?"

Ritsu already knew the answer to that question. He'd answered it just a few hours prior.

"No, though I would have done anything to change it before I met you." _That's why I've been such a coward, because I didn't like my past. _

Rin found himself grinning at that. At least they were on the same page. "What do you plan to do now?"

The elder shrugged. "Mephisto said he'd talk to me about that tomorrow. For now I'm going to continue working as an editor though since I can do that easily from anywhere in the country as long as I have a fax machine."

"You'll have to show me what you do; it sounds more interesting than taking my math class."

"I'll only share with you if you promise to do the work you're supposed to," Ritsu answered with a huff. "That crazy brother of yours told me you've been neglecting your studies. That's not allowed." In an instant he'd turned into parent mode. Luckily Rin just grinned and nodded in acquiescence. "Good," Onodera continued.

A communicable silence followed as the two finished the dishes, occasionally asking simple questions about the past and the present. Within an hour they had finished the pile of earthen-ware and went to take a shower. Ritsu wasn't actually sure where he was supposed to sleep, or in what since his things had been left in Mephisto's care.

He walked into the shower area with a towel around his waist and saw that his little demon lover was already under the spray.

"I guess I'll sleep in the room next to yours tonight?" he asked as he took some soap and started to lather his body.

Rin glanced over and shook his head. "Like hell that's going to happen. Until I have you chipped you're sleeping with me." He looked his lover up and down and noticed the large scar on his leg. That was the scar he was responsible for.

The editor took a step back after he'd washed the soap off his person when he noticed his body being scrutinized. Immediately he shied away and tried to shield himself from the thoughtful gaze directed at his leg.

"Don't…" Rin said, reaching out a hand and keeping Ritsu from turning away.

Slowly he lowered himself to his knees and reached out to touch the leg housing the scar. Ritsu tried to take a step back, but the kid reached out and took hold of his hand; pulling him closer.

"You don't have…" he tried to get out since he was already feeling rather vulnerable in that position, even if Rin was the one on his knees.

Okumura didn't listen and let his fingers ghost over the scar. While it didn't exactly convey beauty, it didn't take anything away from the person standing in front of him either. Ritsu could feel a shiver go up his spine when the tips of Rin's fingers touched the marred flesh.

After feeling the scar, Rin lifted the leg slightly and placed butterfly kisses along the outer edges of the indentation, causing Ritsu to break out in goose-bumps. He'd have stopped the boy, but for some reason he felt as if this were the most sensual time in his life. The feel of Okumura-kun's lips against his blemished leg had not just an erotic feeling, but a deep intimacy that caught his loins on fire.

Rin noticed his lover had closed his eyes and knew that the shower was about to become more than just a shower in a few moments time. He used his tail to pull on Ritsu's wrist, bringing the elder down to his level. When their heads were close, he leaned in and kissed the shy editor, wrapping his dripping wet arms around the other man's prone form.

Said editor leaned into the kiss and let himself be pulled down onto the floor. On the shower tiles, slippery with running water, the two caressed one another and made love in a slow and methodic manner the likes of which neither had done before. He'd not wanted to end the night in such a way, but Ritsu realized that they both needed what they both needed. And what they needed was each other. Thus, the night was not spent sleeping or studying, but mapping one another out again, over and over until the sun came up when they finally fell asleep.

/GG/

Mephisto and his little brother Amaimon watched the two sleeping together from the rafters.

"Brother, you are bordering on perversion here," the green-haired demon commented since neither the editor nor their younger brother had any clothes on and the blanket that was supposed to be covering them had ended up on the floor.

"This coming from someone who is sitting right here with me," Mephisto commented with a smirk.

"Touché…but why are we here?"

"Just checking up on two of the most ignorant and stubborn individuals ever to grace this world we live in." Mephisto took hold of the smaller demon and they left the sight of an unlikely pair who had managed to make it work.

/GG/

_Three Months Later_

Ritsu stood at the stove with his hand gently stirring the oatmeal. He'd already burned one pan and he wasn't about to let some smarmy teenager get the better of him. He could make oatmeal; even if Rin had to be there to make sure it didn't burn or explode.

The editor, turned teacher, turned and looked at his lover and eyed him thoughtfully. That was until he felt the boy's tail reach around and start to touch him in an important part of his anatomy. This caused him to jump back and glare at the youngster with a spoon in the air that happened to be dripping oatmeal onto the floor.

"Do you have to do that, Okumura-kun?" he asked with a stern voice.

Rin giggled. "Sorry, but seeing you in that getup kind of turns me on a little."

Onodera looked from Rin to Ukobach, who kind of shook his head and left the area before he witnessed any unpleasant encounters.

"This," he indicated the apron covered in flowers, "turns you on?" he asked.

Okumura blushed and gave him a cheeky smirk, "I'm a teenage boy; _**everything**_ turns me on."

"I think we need to give you a shot of something to calm your hormones," he grumbled, turning to continue stirring the oatmeal.

The seed of Satan smiled and set out three plates for their morning breakfast; provided it wasn't completely ruined by the time Yukio graced them with his presence.

"When are your classes today?" the student asked while helping Ukobach cut melons to go with the oatmeal.

"I'm teaching the editorial writing class to *third-years, and then I have two intro to language classes for first –years this afternoon."

After agreeing to teach on a part-time basis, Mephisto had opened up a few extra-curricular classes for students wishing to enter into the editorial or journalism field. Onodera hadn't wanted to originally, but Shiemi had made a comment to him about wanting to attend school to learn how to write for a botany magazine she'd subscribed to. After a little begging on the girl's part, the man agreed to teach five different classes at various levels. Teaching was not something he'd ever wanted to do, but Yukio had mentioned that Moriyama didn't actually attend the school and if he were to teach a few of the classes, maybe she would start to open up a little more.

Normally that type of request wouldn't have worked, but the look in the teen's eyes at the prospect of learning how to write her own articles for publication caused him to buckle. Thus, Onodera had become a sensei at the beginning of the new term.

"Can I come by your place after classes today?" Rin asked, taking over with the oatmeal so it didn't burn and they could eat shortly.

Onodera nodded. Initially Okumura-kun had insisted on him living in the dorm with him, but neither Mephisto nor Ritsu agreed to such. Having the man around might have proven to be quite the distraction. So the editor had been given a place in the teacher's apartment complex. Said complex wasn't more than five minute's walk from where Rin lived, so the demon teen relented and allowed his lover out of his sight. Ritsu allowed him to come by after classes, but he was only allowed to sleep over on Friday and Saturday nights, provided he wasn't needed elsewhere.

Rules had been set up, again, and they were strictly enforced. Mephisto saw to that since both boys were still rather young. If Rin was able to keep his grades up and keep his boyfriend in his life for a term, the elder demon was willing to let Yukio off the hook as babysitter and allow Rin to move in with Ritsu. Initially Onodera hadn't been too fond of that idea, but after a couple of months he realized that it did get rather lonely during the week and he found himself almost wishing the weekend were five days while the weekdays only numbered two.

"We have five days off coming up; would you like to go somewhere?"

Ritsu contemplated the notion for a moment before responding. A trip would have been nice, but for some reason he thought it better to just stay home.

"You can come stay with me," he finally said after rehearsing the best way to say that without possibly hurting Rin's feelings.

This hardly hurt anyone's feelings though since Okumura was more than happy to spend an entire five days with his lover, especially if he could get the man to wear the flowered apron again.

"You realize if we don't go somewhere we may end up never leaving the bedroom," he said with a giggle.

Ritsu blanched and rolled his eyes. Was sex all the kid thought about?

"Then you can take me around this city and show me the sights during the day." Anything to keep them from being overly exhausted when classes resumed. It was bad enough that people whispered about the two of them and that Ritsu kept getting ridiculous text messages from his mom about An-chan, again, which some people took to be Rin sending him messages. _The kid doesn't have a cell phone, so how in the hell would he send me a text message!_

Okumura agreed and he set their breakfast out just as Yukio walked into the kitchen. Another day was about to start which meant that a whole new adventure lay right outside the door. Rin grinned as he sat down next to the two most important, living, people in his life. He'd not trade his life for anyone's.

/GG/

**Author's Note**

***Third-years in Japan would refer to grade 12 in other countries for those who don't know. **

**And this is it everyone. I am actually sad to see it go! Thanks, as usual to Risque Tendencies, for helping me out! Cheers!**

**Thank you to any and all who read, reviewed, or anything else with this series. I had a great time writing it and hope you had fun reading such an interesting pair. **


End file.
